The Clare Echo 03/11/22

Councillors call CAB over Ennis crimes

PÁRAIC McMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

Speaking this week, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) expressed his shock with “the level of damage by criminal elements”.

AFORMER

MAYOR OF ENNIS has called for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to be brought to the county town to cut out current levels of criminality. Three different properties in Cloughleigh have been damaged by house fires within the last six months.

He called for CAB to be summoned to the county town to help counteract the issues. “It is having a huge impact on neighbourhoods, it is getting to a stage where someone will be killed and it will probably be somebody innocent”. Flynn added, “It is criminal activity, using words like feuds glorify it”.

Story pg 12

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Éire Óg goalkeeper Shane Daniels and his daughter Aoibhinn celebrate ÉireÓg’s win against Ennistymon last Sunday at Cusack Park Photo by Gerard O’Neill

PROUD PARENTS AT MIC GRADUATION

Junior Minister visits Doolin Coast Guard

DOOLIN’S

Coast Guard Unit was vis ited by Min ister of State for Transport, Hildegarde Naughton (FG), writes Páraic McMahon. Reconstituted following a report by independent me diator Kieran Mulvey, the Unit was stood down last

November after six volun teers resigned. Recent ap pointments of an Officer in Charge and Deputy Officer in Charge have been made in Doolin.

Junior Minister Naughton who has special responsibil ity for the Irish Coast Guard met with current volunteers in the past week. Doolin Coast Guard Unit consists

of 7 volunteers and 8 more in Inis Óirr. The Unit carries out search, boat and drone roles. In 2021, a total of 41 incident taskings were re sponded to, and a further 49 so far in 2022. This year is the 200th anniversary of the Irish Coast Guard. Speaking from Doolin, the Galway West TD acknowl edged “the commitment of staff and volunteers here in Clare, and nationwide, for providing this crucial service and particularly for maintaining service delivery throughout the Covid pan demic. I continue to hear stories of volunteers leaving their families at home in the dead of night, and even on Christmas Day, to assist those in difficulty; a fact that demonstrates the personal sacrifice that is made by our volunteers 365 days of the year. Without our volun teers we simply would not have this lifesaving service. I would also like to thank their families and the wider community without whose support this service could not be provided”.

Orlaith Daly and her parents Eilís and Anthony of Tullycrine pictured at Mary Immaculate College this week after Orlaith graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree Photo by Brian Arthur

lVOLUNTEERS: Minister of State for Transport, Hildegarde Naughton (FG) pictured with Doolin Coastguard

Shannon Heritage workers protest

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

'Terrified' of losing jobs

SHANNON Heritage workers have slammed the level of communication they have received from Shannon Airport Group as uncertainty looms over the pro posed transfer of the tourism sites in Co Clare, writes Páraic McMahon

SHANNON

Heritage workers have vented their frustration at the inability of Government representatives to provide them with any timeframe regarding a potential transfer of tourism sites in Clare.

Up to 30 workers at Bunratty Cas tle and Folk Park staged a lunchtime protest on Friday to demonstrate their dismay with the continued uncertain ty regarding the future of the sites and their ownership. Placards detailed that it was ‘political ping pong’, a ‘tourism trap’, a ‘castle crisis’, ‘Knappogue nightmare’ and reminded Taoiseach Micheál Mar tin (FF) to ‘get on with it’.

Only three political representatives attended the demonstration, Cathal Crowe TD (FF), Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) and Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) while Michael McNamara TD (IND) arrived when the event had concluded. “It’s awful that ye are out on the street outside your place of work, it shouldn’t have come to this, every person in Government is working to a solution for this,” Deputy Crowe re

marked.

An inter-departmental group is cur rently working to reach a final out come, he said. As the sites are currently operated by Shannon Airport Group, he believed it was the Department of Transport that should be funding the bill. “Until the dotted line is signed over, supreme management is with Shannon Group”.

Caroline O’Sullivan, a Shannon Her

itage employee responded, “everything you’ve said we’ve heard before. We need a date. You mentioned the different De partments, can they not give the fund ing”. He stated that once it goes before Cabinet “the formalities will be very quick, this will all happen very quickly, it’s just the timeframe isn’t set out”.

Workers “need to know if there is con firmation of funding,” Dolores Broderick stressed. “We need it now,” she added.

Clare County Council have stressed they will not take over the sites from Shannon Airport Group in the absence of €15m in funding. Talks have been toing and froing since June of last year.

Speaking at a demonstration held by Shannon Her itage workers at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Clare TD Cathal Crowe (FF) remarked, “until the dotted line is signed over, the supreme management of Shan non Heritage is with the Shannon Airport Group”.

Workers are now “terrified” about the prospect of becoming unemployed in January. Chris Rowley an entertainer at Bunratty Castle said, “no one person knows what they’ll be doing on the 1st or the 2nd of January, nobody knows, pressure needs to go on Shannon Airport Group to let me and all these people know what is going on, we’re facing into the busiest part of the year and the blood will be taken out of us”.

In response to queries from The Clare Echo, a spokesperson for Shannon Airport Group said they had “worked tirelessly with all parties to facilitate the smooth transfer of the Clare sites to Clare County Council”. Regular updates have been issued to staff, the spokesperson detailed. “Staff have been updated throughout this process as news becomes available. Every effort has been made to communicate with staff on the transfer by onsite management and the Shannon Airport Group. In fact, management from the Shannon Airport Group met with the senior man agement team at Shannon Heritage as late Thursday”.

'Stand up for transfer'

A SHANNON representative has called on senior management in Clare County Council “to stand up and be counted” to finalise the transfer of four Shannon Heritage sites to the local authority, writes Páraic McMahon

An attempted proposal by Cllr Gerry Fly nn (IND) for the Council to consider taking out a loan to get the transfer across the line was shot down by Fianna Fáil councillors last month. Addressing a protest by Shan non Heritage workers, Cllr Flynn said, “I tried to work up a debate but not one councillor stood with me”. Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) questioned Cllr Flynn if he was referring to his proposal to raise a loan. “I am calling on Pat Dowling to stand up and be counted, stop dilly dallying,” the Shannon representa tive responded.

Deputy Crowe said Flynn’s attempts “un

dermines the process” of negotiations. “To come in with suggestions of raising loans when negotiations are a delicate stage scup pers what we’re trying to do”. Nearly €30m of a loan was raised for the Cliffs of Moher, Flynn responded, “there are lives at stake here”. Crowe answered back, “a loan com petes with getting State funding, it lets the Government off the hook”. Flynn reminded the former councillor, “ye have thirteen Fian na Fáil councillors on Clare County Council, that’s the majority, talk to them”. This was labelled as “spin” by the Clare TD.

An employee at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park described the ongoing situation as “bureaucracy gone absolutely mad” as he questioned “how much is being wasted on civil servants the people working in the back ground to come up with nothing”.

lDEVELOPMENT: Dolores Broderick Photo by Natasha Barton

from th of quality eye Horizon Opti

Find Fyou ind you look ly ook y

Christmas lights to shine but Council cutting energy use

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

CHRISTMAS

lights are to be switched on in Ennis for 12 hours per day as Clare County Council strives to cut back on its energy usage.

Barefield’s Ivanna McMahon who was crowned Miss Ireland is set to have the hon our of switching on the Christmas Lights in the county town on November 25th.

Abbey St’s Christmas village is to return in the week after the lights ceremony with the drive-in retro movies also back to the Quin Rd.

Lights will be switched on from 3pm to 3am daily, Niamh O’Connor of the Ennis Municipal District informed councillors this week.

From 2pm daily there will be no charge in public car parks in the period Novem ber 25th to January 2nd, normal payment operations continue for on-street parking with additional parking to be provided at Clare County Council’s headquarters on the

New Rd and also the Town Council offices at Drumbiggle. Existing pedestrianisation measures will run from 11:30am to 4:30pm during this window.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the local authority was reducing its use of energy from Christmas lights by 50 per cent. The provision of free parking was “important as we’re giving back to customers”. He said the Council had spent a “significant sum of money in making very safe pedestrian ac cess” from their offices which will open up an additional 300 to 400 car parking spaces and he encouraged workers in the town to be courteous to visitors.

“I know everyone is conscious of energy and the cost of electricity but the Christmas season is one that people look forward to,” Cllr Ann Norton (IND) commented. She believed it was important the Council made an effort on energy saving. “It is a time that people come into town and see the festive side of things. This year, there will be a lot of families that won’t be able to afford to go to Santy,” she flagged.

Deputy Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) reminded Cllr Norton, “we’re doing our best to be on the nice list not the naughty list”.

lTIS THE SEASON: Ennis Christmas lights

Wynne unsure how much of €12k loan she owes party

viously reported in May 2020 that Newcastle West based solicitor, John Lynch transferred a payment for the rent arrears of €12,116 to Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI) solicitor Michael Lynch.

Shane Ross’ new book, Mary Lou McDonald – A Republican Riddle includes an interview with the Clare TD where she revealed that Sinn Féin lent her mon ey for unpaid rent in May 2020. An agreement had been reached that Deputy Wynne would make monthly repayments of €1,000 to Sinn Féin.

party said Sipo must be informed if a loan is defaulted on and said it is accounted for in their annual accounts under the heading ‘Debt ors’. The spokesperson said Ms McDonald has never received any loans from the party.

ness whatsoever since I resigned in February”.

CLARE

TD, Vio let-Anne Wynne (IND) has admitted she has not paid back the entirety of a loan to Sinn Féin after the political par ty aided her to repay rent debts, writes Páraic McMahon

Deputy Wynne resigned from Sinn Féin in February after she said had been “gaslighted”, “isolat

ed” and subjected to “psychologi cal warfare” within the party.

It has emerged that Sinn Féin gave a commercial loan of €12,126 to Violet-Anne after it emerged following her election to Dáil Éireann in February 2020 she had rent debts with Rural Resettlement Ireland of the same value built up over a four year period.

The Clare Champion had pre

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said the loan was made to Ms Wynne in line with Standards in Public Of fice (Sipo) regulations and insisted it “must be paid back in full”. The spokesperson added, “Sinn Féin is not in the business of providing loans. In this exceptional case a loan was provided to Violet-Anne Wynne in line with the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) criteria.

In line with that criteria, the loan was made on a commercial basis and must be paid back in full.” The

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Deputy Wynne admitted that she has missed repayments on the loan to Sinn Féin. “There was an arrangement organised at the time and that was that I was to pay €1000 per month which I managed for several months but then I missed a payment or two, I think the following year because of COVID I wasn’t able to attend Leinster House, Sinn Féin had giv en a strict instruction that unless you were speaking you weren’t to attend, I ended up then having to pay back €18,000 to Leinster House as well, it fell to the wayside in being able to pay back Leinster House”.

She said she was “unsure” how much money she currently owed to Sinn Féin. “Sinn Féin have not contacted me in regards any busi

During her interview for the book, Violet-Anne said Mary Lou used feminism as a façade. Ex plaining her comments, Deputy Wynne told The Clare Echo, “Her warmth would have gone part and parcel with the feminist façade that I now see it as, maybe the compassionate side of her as well, it wouldn’t have been something that I experienced in any way. The meeting that I did have with her (December 2020 to raise concerns and discuss the debt), she paid at tention to what I was saying but as for actually following on or hav ing any follow up actions or even correspondence in relation to the things I had raised with her in that meeting, it was just zero”.

In June of this year, the Kilrush woman said she, her partner and six children were homeless after receiving a notice to quit their dwellings. She confirmed she has yet to secure permanent accom modation and is currently living with family members.

lPOLITICS: Clare TD, Violet Anne Wynne

Photo by Natasha Barton

Bellezia awarded Guinot’s Prestigious Crown Status 2022 Calls for CAB to clamp down on criminality

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

‘S

HOCKING levels of criminality’ in En nis have led to a county councillor call ing for the deployment of the Criminal Assets Bureau to the area.

Three house fires have been started in the wider Cloughleigh area in a six month period with properties at Gordon Drive, Childers Rd and John Paul Avenue targeted.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) expressed his concerns with the “attack by criminal elements on private and Council estates”.

He said he was “shocked to see the level of damage by criminal elements” after driving to John Paul Avenue. “Maybe we need to get CAB down to look at this criminality, it is having a huge impact on neighbourhoods, it is getting to a stage where

someone will be killed and it will probably be somebody innocent”.

Flynn recalled the most recent house fire which had “drums of petrol” thrown into the property before it was burnt out. “It is criminal activity, using words like feuds glorify it”. The Ennis representative believed the involvement of commercial and physical assets in the activities warranted the presence of CAB in Ennis.

Prior to Halloween, firefighters were attacked when attempting to put out a bonfire in Cloughleigh. Youths threw stones and other missiles at the personnel and also managed to smash the window of one fire appliance and damaged the vehicle’s windscreen. Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly described the incident as “completely unacceptable behaviour”. He confirmed there had been an escalation in anti-social behaviour with more than ten small rubbish fires in the Cloughleigh area attended to by fire personnel.

BELLEZIA Skin Care Centre, 42 O'Connell Street, Ennis has been awarded the status of Guinot Crown Salon 2022. This coveted title celebrates the highest achieving Guinot Sa lons, Spas and Health Clubs in the UK and Ireland who demon strate success, dedica tion and loyalty to the brand. Guinot is an award-winning her itage skincare brand, delivering bespoke skincare prescriptions and patented treatment methods.

Bellezia Skin Care Centre upholds the high standard that Guinot expects in or der to provide clients with 5* treatments and advanced, professional skin care knowledge.

By visiting a Crown Salon, clients can be confident that they are

choosing a Guinot Sa lon of the highest dis tinction with flawless principles in environ ment, customer care and treatment exper tise. A Crown Salon promotes Guinot in a prime location and of fers all Guinot state of the art machine treat ments, such as Hydra dermie Youth, Hydra

dermie Lift and Eye Lift and all manual face and body treatments for ex ample Hydra Peeling and Lift Summum, as well as results-driven retail products. To book an ap pointment at Belle zia Skin Care Centre, please contact Bellezia Skin Care Centre on 0656864696.

lCONCERNS: Gordon Drive, Cloughleigh

Selling a house

WERECOM

MEND you contact your Solicitor the day you con tact your Auctioneer. Your Solicitor will help you get your paperwork in order as soon as possible, so Con tracts for Sale can issue, once you have secured a buyer. Here is a list of the initial documents your So licitor will need to start the legal sale process:-

Title Deeds

If you have these, bring them with you. If they are with your mortgage provider, your solicitor will have to write and request them, so let your solicitor know the name of your mortgage provider and the mortgage account number. Your solicitor must check that the legal title to the property is in order before Contracts can be sent to the buyer’s solicitor.

LPT

Your Local Property Tax print

out, showing it has been paid up to date (including all the current year) – you can find this on www. revenue.ie

NPPR

Certificate of Exemption or Discharge from Non-Principle Private Residence charge (applied from 2009 to 2013) – see www. nppr.ie

Household Charge

This no longer applies, but you still must provide a Receipt (or Certificate of Discharge) showing it was paid – see www. householdcharge.ie

Services

Details of your property’s water and drainage supply (for water – mains, well or group water scheme?) (for drainage – mains or septic tank?)

Septic Tank

If you have one, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Registration, from www.

protectourwater.ie

Planning Permission

These documents should be with your title deeds. If you have carried out any work to the property since you last purchased or mortgaged, which would require planning permission, then you will need the relevant associated documents, such as planning permissions and engineers’ certificates of compliance.

BER Certificate

If the property was purchased recently it may already have one, if not a new certificate will need to be obtained. Your Auctioneer can also assist you in getting this.

Managed Property

Where there is a management company in place, you will need to provide their contact details and receipts for service charges paid.

Rented Property

If the property has been let to tenants in the past two years,

your solicitor needs a copy of the Letting Agreement and evidence of registration with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

Contents

Any items in the property to be included in the sale, should be itemised.

Tax

If the property has not always been occupied by you, you may be liable for Capital Gains Tax (CGT), and you will need to discuss this with your solicitor, and tax advisor.

‘Tús maith, leath na hoibre’ – a good start is half the battle. If you are thinking of selling, don’t wait, start preparing and contact your

Solicitor. You can also read and download our guide ‘Selling Resi dential Property in 6 Easy Steps –What Happens, When on https:// cashinclancy.ie/selling/ and feel free to contact us at enquiries@ cashinclancy.ie or 065 6840060 and we will be happy to help you. This article does not constitute le gal advice and where an opinion is expressed, it is the personal opin ion of the author only and not of the firm or the paper.

lSOLICITORS: Cashin Clancy's Sheila Lynch, Pamela Clancy and Angela Woulfe Photo by Natasha Barton

An Cosán Draíochta musical tribute comes to glór

ANCOSÁN Draíochta, a new musical suite in memory of the re nowned and muchloved Connemara me lodeon player Johnny Connolly, will be performed at Glór, Ennis, on Friday, 4th November as part

of a nationwide tour.

The music was composed by Johnny Óg Connolly who is also a unique and highly regarded force in the world of traditional music, both as a performer and composer.

Referred to as the “King of the Melodeon”, Johnny Connolly,

who died in December 2019, was a musical genius whose rhythmic and flawless style of playing was legendary. His love of his native Connemara and its music co loured every tune he played, and this deep-rooted connection to its culture and traditions is reflected

and honoured in Johnny Óg’s out standingly beautiful composition. The work features an ensemble of acclaimed artists who seamless ly weave the music and the oral art forms of song and poetry in this profoundly moving and uplifting musical tribute.

An Cosán Draíochta, was com missioned by Stiúideo Cuan, the new and much welcomed Cre ative Arts and Music Centre in An Spidéal, and was directed and pro duced by Darach Mac An Iomaire.

Visit glór.ie for tickets and info.

lFOOTBALL: Young All Stars took to the field of Cusack Park on Sunday prior to the biggest football game in the county. Corofin and Éire Óg were represented by children ranging from five to 12 years old with additional needs who showed off the multitude of GAA skills they’ve learned Photo by Gerard O'Neill

lFIGHTING FIT: This year 75 Clare Crusaders took on the challenge of running the Dublin marathon to raise funds for the Clare Crusaders clinic in Barefield.

Mid West Connecting for Life Project raising awareness on suicide & self-harm in a series of classes in MIC

Tadhg Holland

Healthy Clare and the Clare Echo are teaming up to do a series of Health and Wellbeing informational pieces over the next few weeks. Topics covered with be in line with the Cross-Governmental Healthy Ireland, a Framework for improved Health and Wellbeing programme and will help raise awareness of the different Health and Wellbeing initiatives active in County Clare.

ASERIES

of courses aimed at raising awareness of suicide and self-harm will be hosted by HSE Mid-West.

The classes, which are to be held at Mary Immaculate College, are a part of the HSE’s Connecting for Life service.

Michael Collins, HSE resource officer for suicide prevention with responsibility for Clare, said “Connecting for Life is a whole of society strategy to coordinate and focus the effort to reduce the loss of life by suicide”.

“Our office offers a range of training to the public, to anyone aged over 18. Those are suicide awareness and suicide prevention training, and they range from an hour and a half online training called Start, to four hour face to face training called Safe Talk, up to our two day Assist training, which is applied suicide intervention training. We also do a couple of understanding self-harm trainings and bereavement training for those who work in a professional capacity for those bereaved by suicide,” he said.

Connecting for Life was introduced by the HSE in 2015 to replace the previous Reach Out service and work more closely with nonfor-profit mental health groups, and Michael

says he collaborates closely with a number of Clare organisations in the sector. “There are a range of statutory services, there’s CAMS, they’re from 0-18, you have the adult mental health services which is 18-65, and you have the psychiatry of later life which is 65+. They’re the three formal HSE mental health services and all those need a referral from a GP. Then there’s a range of other services being provided across the county.

For example, the Clare Suicide Bereavement Support, the Family resource centres, you have four of those in the county in the West, North-West and then one in Shannon and one in Killaloe/Ballina. Then you have Clarecare which provides a range of other services in the Ennis region mostly, Clare Youth Services and the ETB’s Education and training boards which provide a lot of support to young people. You have other services like the ISPCC, Childline, Pieta, Textline and Samaritans which are based out on the Kilrush road in Ennis as well”.

Michael is guarded about saying that any individual initiative has a significant impact on suicide numbers but he’s hopeful that the overall impact of the service is positive, “it’s quite hard to say that the action that we’re doing with anyone our partners is having a direct impact on the suicide numbers across the region but what we’re trying to do is focus the work on specific priority groups, and they would be group that would be more vulnerable to suicide. For example, the work that student support teams do in schools in terms of raising awareness of mental health supports and raising awareness of mental health challenges that young people may be facing”.

Another vulnerable group in special focus is Travellers. An Oireachtas report last year found that 11% of travellers die by suicide, a major contributory factor to the life expectancy of Travellers being 15 years less than the wider population. “In Clare what we’re doing are a couple pieces of work related to [traveller mental health]. There’s a group that are meeting that are involved in the provision of mental health and support services that meet a specific brief to tackle the challenge of traveller mental health. The second thing is we are trying to, with Clare Suicide Bereavement Support group, the primary care traveller heath unit in Ennis, and the suicide bereavement liaison officer with Peita, is try to establish a traveller only bereavement group in the hope that that will be more accessible for them because if we do what we call postvention work, which is in the aftermath of a suicide, there’s always a preventative piece with that as well,” said Michael.

For

Mick

- Resource Officer, Office for

The Mid-West Connecting For Life Committee supporting the ‘See Change’ green ribbon campaign at their recent meeting

GREEN CLARE

'Premature' to replenish trees killed by ash dieback

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

CALLSto replenish dead trees in Ennis and Barefield have been labelled as “premature” until fur ther research is completed.

Cllr Ann Norton (IND) called on the Ennis Municipal District to contact Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) ask ing that ash trees which have died due to ash dieback be replenished along the M18 and for the Ennis MD to do likewise in Barefield while making arrangements to “appropri ately dispose of the dead ones”.

Ash dieback is a disease which affects the common ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior). It was first identified in Ireland in 2012. Senior executive technician with the En nis MD, Tommy Scott explained, “the dis ease will cause most of the ash trees in the

country to die over the coming years. Across Europe where this disease has been wide spread for a longer time, a small percentage of the trees have proven to be naturally dis ease tolerant”.

He said Teagasc are working with coun terparts across Europe researching the de velopment of disease tolerant trees “from which it is hoped future Ash trees will be grown. Until this critical research and de velopment work is complete it will not be possible to replenish the Ash trees lost to the disease therefore this request is premature”.

Ash dieback has proven to be very prev alent across Mid-Clare, Cllr Norton stated. “I would be looking for the trees to be re plenished, obviously it doesn’t have to be ash but if there was another appropriate tree that would grow and have a long life expectancy it would be great to see, it is in so many areas around the Municipal District”.

Despite the response from the local au thority, she felt it was still right to contact TII asking them to assess areas where trees

had died due to ash dieback .

Seconding the proposal, Cllr Mary How ard (FG) reminded the meeting she tabled a similar proposal in recent years, “it became apparent to us all then”. She believed it was

important to replant a native Irish species. “Ash has traditionally been used for making hurleys as we know, hurley manufactures are now looking at bamboo because their supply has been impacted”.

Greens announce Bridget Ginnity as new Ennis rep

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

BRIDGET

Ginnity (pic tured right) has been se lected as the Green Party representative for the Ennis electoral area.

A regulatory scientist with the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), the announcement of Bridget as an area representative for the party in Ennis is a signal of its intent to fight to increase its representation on Clare County Council.

Now a regular columnist with

The Clare Champion, Bridget is also a board member with the En nis Book Club Festival, a trustee of Clare Haven and a member of the Ennis Sub Aqua Club.

She moved to Ennis over 30 years ago, she is an avid swimmer in Ballyalla and is a member of the Ballyalla Bravehearts. Ginnity lived in Denmark and Finland for over 10 years.

On her selection as a represen tative for the party, Bridget stated her desire to build on the work done by Senator Garvey and Cllr Grant “ to make climate, commu nities and equality a priority and I

hope to further their work in Ennis”.

Since August, she has been the Clare PPN Envi ronment Representative on the Local Communi ty Development Com mittee. She stated, “Given the current fossil fuel crisis I have a partic ular interest in renewable ener gy and energy efficiency. The Green Party was instrumental in

introducing a new Home En ergy Upgrade Scheme with grants for everything from timers and attic insulation to full upgrades. Well insu lated homes means warm er homes, lower heating bills and reduced carbon emissions”.

“Locally I will be working hard improve walking and cycling infrastructure in En nis as well as public transport routes. We got a taste of the calm that comes from re

duced car use during Covid. Ennis is small enough that walking and cycling is a quick way of getting around and - when made safe and enjoyable - it is much better for our physical and mental wellbeing.

"Imagine the difference frequent shuttle buses in town, other op tions like car share and short du ration car hire would make to our lives and our pockets. The govern ment will provide Clare with about €6m a year for five years for walk ing and cycling projects, includ ing safe routes to schools, and it’s important that we spend it wisely,” she added.

SHANNON NEWS

in association with

Search sees Gardaí find €32k of suspected drugs

GARDAÍ in Shannon un covered drugs worth a com bined €32,000 when search ing two properties in the town on Friday, writes Pára ic McMahon

Two houses in Shannon were searched by mem bers from Shannon Garda Station and the Divisional Drugs Unit on Friday. A sei zure of €20,000 worth of sus pected Amphetamine and €11,000 worth of suspected Cocaine was made in one of the houses and €320 worth of suspected Cannabis Herb and €900 of suspected Co caine were seized in the sec ond house.

Two males in their late 20s were arested and detained

Shannon Garda Station and later released pending sub mission of an investigation file to the DPP.

Meanwhile, at 11pm on Saturday, Detective and uni formed Gardaí from Killal oe carried out a search of a premises in Killaloe. During the course of this search ap proximately €8,000 worth of suspected Cocaine and €200 worth of suspected Heroin were seized. A male in his mid-30s was arrested and detained under the provi sions of Section 2 Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act and later released pend ing submission of investiga tion file to the office of the DPP.

Recently, detectives and uniformed Gardaí from Newmarket-on-Fergus and Shannon Garda Stations conducted a search under warrant at a house in the Newmarket-on-Fergus. During the course of this search €3,700 worth of sus pected Cocaine was seized. A male in his late 20s was arrested at the scene and detained at Shannon Garda Station. This male has since been released from custody and a file is now being pre pared for submission to the DPP.

All these suspected con trolled substances have been forwarded to Forensic Sci ence Ireland for analysis.

Documentary traces Miss Folan's Last Wish

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

ANRTÉ radio documentary has recalled a story from 1967 which made the headlines after a coffin was transported from Shannon Airport to Inis Meáin.

Miss Mary Folan emigrated to Boston in 1929 at the age of 18 and had spent most of her life as a nanny for an American family. Although known in Ireland as Mary Folan, she used the surname Foley in America. She died of cancer at the age of 56 and it was her final wish to be buried at home.

Her story was the subject of an RTÉ Doc umentary on One with a Clare listener con tacting producers in 2019 sharing his mem ories of the April 1967 story which left him intrigued for most of his life.

Cork-born Boston undertaker, Gene Sheehan was tasked with bringing Miss Folan’s remains back to Ireland. He came up with the idea of transferring the coffin from Shannon Airport to the island by heli copter. He said the helicopter arrangements were made to avoid any difficulties involved in the sea crossing to Inis Meáin. As there were no berthing facilities on the island at the time, a transfer by sea would have meant transferring the coffin from a fishing vessel out of Galway to a currach to reach the is land, which he said he was reluctant to do at

that time of year.

Miss Folan’s death notice which appeared in the Boston Globe newspaper, outlined the unusual arrangements. In Shannon, the he licopter company carried out various tests to carry the cargo, the coffin was to be placed in a sling attached to ropes which were then hooked underneath the helicopter. It was a method of carrying cargo that the helicopter company had not used before.

Out on Inis Meáin the islanders, including Miss Folan’s brother and four sisters, were making preparations and awaiting the arriv al of the helicopter.

A grave had been dug for the burial and the local priest was preparing for the funeral mass. White blankets held down by stones were laid out in a field beside the church to act as a landing pad.

On attempting to transport Miss Folan’s coffin, the coffin broke away from the sling and fell into a field near a place called, Par adise in Ballynacally. But this was only the start of things to come and more unfortu nate incidents were to unfold on a second attempt to transfer the coffin the following day.

In Miss Folan’s Last Wish, Sarah Blake from the Doc on One teamed up with Treasa Bhreathnach from Raidió na Gaeltachta to find those connected to this story, in Ireland and beyond, and reveal what happened that led to these events all of 55 years ago. The documentary was first broadcast on Satur day and is now available as a podcast.

lBURIAL: Hughes Helicopter 269B EIAOU - the actual helicopter that transported the coffin Image courtesy of Antoin Daltuìn

Notes'Boutique capital' to host fashion and wellness extravaganza

EXPERIENCE

Ennis will stage a fashion and wellness extravaganza on Saturday 5 November, writes Elaine Tubridy

The jam-packed event is set to put the fun back into the traditional shop ping experience while also honing in on the importance of women’s hormonal and sexual health.

Rosemarie Noone, Experience Ennis, said, “Ennis has an impressive range of indepen dent shops offering all sorts of everything - you just can't beat a day strolling through the streets and checking out the town's many treasure troves. There’s no doubt, the way people shop has changed in the last two years, but people are realising how much they have missed out on shopping in person, trying things on and getting that one-on-one advice. Women are excited about getting dressed up again and being seen. This experi ence is all about giving them the inspiration, tools and confidence to be fabulous again.”

Known as the 'Boutique Capital of Ireland', Ennis has long held a reputation as a shop pers' paradise. Putting itself firmly back on the map, the fashion and wellness experience will shine a spotlight on how women can feel and look fabulous with a number of fash ion shows, talks, demos and a lively Sex and

Wellness panel discussion.

The event will kick off at 11am with brunch in The Monks' Society (formerly Cloisters Restaurant). This will be followed by a fash ion show where broadcaster Lorraine Keane and stylist Laura Jordan will discuss the latest trends and style tips and introduce highlights of the season from over 16 local boutiques.

Visitors can enjoy a wide range of events, entertainment and promotions taking place in boutiques throughout the town. The itin erary includes a Body Confidence Workshop, four mini fashion shows, styling workshops, and lots more.

The day will be wrapped up with a ‘Sex and Wellness’ panel discussion in the Old Ground Hotel from 5pm to 7pm. Lorraine Keane will host the high profile panel of experts who in clude writer and broadcaster Barbara Scully; Dr Mary Ryan, Consultant Endocrinologist in the Bons Secours; Dr Maire Finn, GP who is focused on Women's health and wellbeing; and Grace Alice O'Shea, sex and intimacy expert. The lively and informative discussion will focus on women's hormone health and sexual wellbeing. Wine and Canapés will be served.

Tickets for the Fashion Brunch at the Monk’s Society and the Sex and Wellness event are available on Eventbrite.

THE NEW FACES OF ART

THE Harmony Bridge Club meets every Friday at Bridge Center Ennis at 7.30pm. New members welcome. Congratulations to last week's win ners Ann Garry and Mary Burke, Ei leen Crowd and Frances Black.

LONG-SERVING TD, Éamon Ó Cúiv will be the guest of honour at the annual commemoration of his grand-father Eamon de Valera in En nis this weekend. At 12pm this Sun day (November 6th), the commem oration will take place at the statue erected in his honour outside Ennis Courthouse.

Ó Cúiv has been confirmed as the special guest for this year’s ceremony. An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (FF) was on hand for the gathering last year.

A TD for Galway West since 1992, the 72 year old has held several Min istries during his political career including Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (2002-2010), So cial Protection (2010-2011) plus the Environment, Community, Local Government and Defence (January to March 2011). He unsuccessfully contested the leadership of Fianna Fáil after the resignation of Brian Cowen and has been a vocal critic of the current Taoiseach.

lSHH: Carmel Doherty and the students of Ennis Art School (Brian Coughlan, Mahia Rahman, Cameron O'Grady, Alysha Casey Hanrahan and Martina Harrison) opened their exhibition at Sweet N Green café last week. Carmel and her exceptionally talented students displayed beautiful artwork and sculpture with an amazing variety of styles. Carmel Doherty delivers art classes to children from 5 years of age, teenagers and adults, in all aspects of drawing, painting, craft and animation in Ennis.

lCATWALK: A host of fashion showes are lined up

Notes

CLARE Limousin Club Heifer Sale, Nov 11th Sixmilbridge Mart @ 7pm. Top quality bloodlines on offer. A sale not to be missed.

East Clare Scariff Bay Community Radio retain GAA media rights

MINSTER for Transport, Ea mon Ryan (GP) will be in East Clare today (Thursday) for the official sod turning of the Killaloe Bypass, Shannon Bridge Crossing & R494 Improvement Scheme.

Approval was granted for the project in December by Minister Ryan when he gave Clare County Council the thumbs up to award the contract for the €43.7m Kil laloe Bypass, River Shannon Crossing and upgrade of the R494 project to John Sisk & Son.

Costs are understood to have risen to approximately €60m but Department funding remains in place.

The entire scheme is approxi mately 6.2km and will cross the River Shannon approximately 1km to the south of the existing Killaloe Bridge.

The works are expected to take three years and will see a new bridge joining Killaloe to Ballina to divert from the 18th century bridge presently in use.

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

Bay Community Radio and Clare FM will continue to have access to broadcast GAA games as part of the Associa tion’s new media deal announced this week.

SCARIFF

Details of the GAA’s new broad casting arrangement were con firmed this week with Sky Sportsending its agreement while RTÉ will introduce a second highlights programme on top of the evening Sunday Game offering.

Streaming service GAAGO will broadcast an unspecified num ber of championship games in Ireland and overseas. As per previous years, TG4 will carry Monday-night highlights and other GAA programming.

BBC will also simulcast with RTÉ the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in both hurling and foot ball and will broadcast at least one of the All-Ireland finals on its wider TV network annually.

Radio rights remain unchanged,

RTÉ and Raidió na Gaeltachta re tain exclusive national live rights while TodayFM and Newstalk will continue to provide score-flash updates. BBC Radio Ulster and 24 local IBI radio stations nationwide including Clare FM have also re tained their rights.

Prior to the announcement, wor ry had been expressed on implica tions for community radio stations as part of the agreement. It fol lowed Community Radio Kilken ny City (CRKC) announcing they had to “seriously curtail” their GAA coverage with immediate effect as KCLR 96FM have been given ex clusive rights.

Director of Communications with the GAA, Alan Milton confirmed to The Clare Echo that Scariff Bay Community Radio will continue to have access to broadcast games. “There is no change to pre-ex isting arrangements and we ac knowledge and welcome the great work many community stations do for our games nationwide,” he stated. Bodyke’s Leo Doyle is the chief sports commentator on the popular Scariff Bay with analysis provided by Pat McNamara of Kil lanena, Broadford’s Danny Chap lin, Ruan native Kevin O’Regan and a host of guests.

NEW SEASON, NEW STYLE

lDEAL: Scariff Bay Community Radio commentator Leo Doyle flanked by analysts Pat McNamara and Michael Murphy Photo by Gerard O’Neill

lFUNDRAISER: (above) Scariff Community College staff members, Angela Russell, Darina Sheridan and Maria Curtin at the fashion show which was held to raise funds for the school's ambitious astro turf development and (below) guests enjoying the latest looks

West Clare

Swimmers make a splash for breast cancer research in Cappa

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

OVER130 swim mers braved the elements on Monday morning for the Swim in Pink event at Cappa, Kilrush. A nationwide initiative, Swim in Pink is used to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research, with over €30,000 raised last year across the country. This was the first event to be held in Cappa.

Among the group was a woman who travelled all the way from Meath after reading of the event which she was de termined to complete in mem ory of her mother. Organisers had initially hoped to have a crowd of 50 to 60 but were very pleased with such large numbers.

Pauline Dunleavy was one of the key persons behind the event taking place in Cappa. “We started with a remem brance for those who have left us with cancer but we also made it a morning for the sur

vivor, I couldn’t believe the amount of survivors in the gathering.”

She is part of a group of 20 to 30 who swim every day in Cappa. “We have two female survivors in our group and both cases were caught by a mammogram. I saw different people on Monday and I was reminded that they had cancer and some were in remission”.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Pauline admitted that she was “fascinated” by the length at which people stayed in the wa ter for. After leaving the water, people gathered for tea, a pink cake and a pink bun.

“People know that the funds are spent wisely and the out come is success. The research on cancer has come on leaps and bounds,” she said. “It’s very important for men and women to check themselves, it’s a free service for over fif ties and a quick procedure for breast check, anyone who gets the call for a mammogram don’t leave it blank”.

A BIG gathering of people from the parish of Kilmaley is expected at 2pm at Kilmaley Day care Centre on Sunday next (November 6th). There will be entertainment and refresh ments. This is a Harvest gathering to celebrate the year and to allow people to come together for a chat after lockdown. For those interested in walking, a 5k route will be marked out and a shorter walk for little ones will also be avail able. Meeting to start the walk will take place at 12.30pm at the DayCare Centre, allowing participants to return for the gathering at 2pm.

KILKEE’S Christmas Day swim is to be the subject of a new tv commercial.

The ad is set to feature prominently across national television during December. Produc tion company, Ponder are to oversee the film ing. Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) said Ponder have agreed to make “an extremely generous dona tion” to West Clare Cancer Centre for everyone who shows up. It is to take place at 10:30am on Kilkee beach on either November 15/16/17. Register by emailing kilkeeswim@gmail.com.

RAIDIÓ Corca Baiscinn received two Craol gold awards at the annual Féile which took place at the end of October. The Kilkee Civic Trust Talks and the topical weekly programme, Community Unity claimed the latest accolades.

THE Bewley’s coffee morning in Shyan was a great success again with €2485 raised. Caher calla thank everyone who donated with every euro going directly to them.

Notes Drama in Doonbeg hall

DOONBEG community hall is gearing up to host the one-act drama festival next weekend, writes Páraic Mc Mahon

A host of drama groups from across Clare and be yond are heading for Doon beg for the festival which runs from Saturday (Novem

ber 12th) to Monday (No vember 14th).

Corofin Drama Group and Doonbeg Drama Group will be joined by groups from Waterford, Wexford and Mayo.

Organised by the volun teer committee of the West Clare Drama Festival, the

Doonbeg One-Act is now in its 35th year. Details are available on www.westclaredramafesti val.com and admission price is €12 for Adults or €30 for all 3 nights and €6 for Chil dren available on each night. Doors open at 7.15pm with Curtain Up at 8pm sharp.

lHATS OFF: Ann Glynn and Bernie Kelly at the Cappa Swim in Pink Photo by John Mangan

North Clare Burren Winterage Festival marks unique annual farming practice

€115,000 has been raised by the Cliffs of Moher Cycle Challenge across nine years for valuable charities and volun tary organisations in the area.

This year’s cycle brought in a total of €38,000. Riverside Cycling Club hosted a reception on Thursday evening at the Digital Hub in Ennistymon where they presented the latest funds and heard of the work done by each organisation lo cally.

More than 1,100 cyclists partake in the event which is one of the biggest five charity cycles in Ireland. Organ isers estimate that the annual event is worth €150,000 to the local economy benefitting hotels, restaurants, pubs and shops.

Beneficiaries from the cycle include North Clare Family Resource Centre with 90 per cent of the funding for the development of an outside amenity area at the community creche facility covered. Lahinch Leisure Centre, En nistymon Church, Irish Community Air Ambulance, Burren Chernobyl, Ennistymon Tidy Towns, Lahinch Tidy Towns, EDSAP, Ennistymon Commu nity Hospital, Sea To Summit and St. Vincent De Paul have all benefitted from funding.

Riverside Cycling Club was founded in 2012 and currently has 48 members with new recruits always welcome.

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

THEBurren’s famous biodiversity continues to be maintained through its tradition of winterage. Celebrating the unique farming practice of out-wintering cattle re mains at the heart of the annual Burren Win terage Weekend festival which took place over the weekend.

Co-ordinated by local landscape charity

The Burrenbeo Trust, this year’s festival fea tured a wide range of farming, heritage, and cultural events in Corofin and neighbouring farms in the Burren.

In Ireland at the end of the season cattle are taken home, in the Burren it's the oppo site, the animals are released to wander in the hills, where they forage for food all winter long. Remarkably, no bovine injuries have been reported by local farmers as the cattle stay on the hill.

Burrenbeo Trust organise the annual cel ebration. Brendan Dunford who works with the organisation explained, "The Burren is a wonderful heritage landscape, full of biodi versity, archaeology and geology, but also a place where farmers have farmed for 6,000 years, using this very unique system of win terage where they put the cattle on the hills in

wintertime and take them back on the green fields in the summer time”.

He said the winterage tradition is key to the Burren’s famous biodiversity.

“The cattle spend the whole winter har vesting dead grass and vegetation from the Burren and in the spring when the cattle come back down, the sunlight can penetrate the ground flora and all this these beautiful gentians and orchids can pop out unhindered

and flower and seed for the rest of the sum mer. This is a botanical metropolis with lots of plants from different parts of the world, Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean packed into this landscape but dependent on that farming tradition”.

Outwintering is possible because of the heat the vast area of limestone absorbs through the summer months, slowly releas ing heat gradually.

lTRADITION: Cattle wander the hills for the winter

RONAN SCULLY

Thought for the week

Í IM

Gone but not forgotten "N

ITHE uainn atá siad, ach im ithe romhainn. They are not gone from us, but gone before us."

We pray these words and many others often during the month of November. One of the greatest signs of love is remembrance. We set time aside to remember and pray for our brothers and sisters who have died. We pray that they have passed from death to life in the company of the Risen Christ, the firstborn from the dead, whose love has overcome all things. November is a time for remembering and praying for our loved ones who have gone before us and whose loss we feel.

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, treat everyone around you in a gentler way as much as you can and be thankful for loved ones gone before us that are no longer with us in the same presence as they were, especially during this month of November which is dedicated as a time of remembering! As one of my favourite writers John O' Donohue wrote "live the life you would love to look back on from your deathbed".

A prayer called 'If Tomorrow Starts Without Me' attributed to David Romano I love to pray that gives me solace when I think of my loved one's gone before me goes as follows, "When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see; If the sun should rise and find your eyes, all filled with tears for me; I wish so much you wouldn't cry, the way you did today, while thinking of the many things, we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you, and each time that you think of me, I know you'll miss me too; But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand, that an Angel came and called my name, and took me by the hand, and said my place was ready, in heaven far above, and that I'd have to leave behind, all those I dearly love. But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye, for all my life, I'd always thought, I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for, so much left yet to do, it seemed almost impossible, that I was leaving you. I thought of all the yester days, the good ones and the bad, I thought of all the love we shared, and all the fun we had. If I could relive yesterday, just even for a while, I'd say goodbye

and kiss you and maybe see you smile. But then I fully realized, that this could never be, for emptiness and memories, would take the place of me. And when I thought of worldly things, I might miss come tomor row, I thought of you, and when I did, my heart was filled with sorrow. But when I walked through heaven's gates, I felt so much at home. When God looked down and smiled at me, from His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eterni ty, and all I've promised you". Today your life on earth is past, but here life starts anew. I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last, and since each day's the same day, there's no longing for the past. But you have been so faithful, so trusting and so true. Though there were times you did some things, you knew you shouldn't do. But you have been forgiven and now at last you're free. So won't you come and take my hand and share my life with me? So when tomor row starts without me, don't think we're far apart, for every time you think of me, I'm right here, in your heart. Amen"

So please treat everyone around you in a gentler way as much as you can and be thankful for loved ones that are no longer with us in the same pres ence as they were, espe cially during this time of remembering. “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”

COMMUNITY GAMES ALL STARS

THE St Francis Credit Union Clare Com munity Games All Star Awards for 2022 were held on Friday 28th October in Trea cy’s West County Hotel, Ennis. Thirty-eight children from 11 areas across the county were award winners.

Chairperson Paula Byrne O’Connell wel comed the children receiving their awards, Mrs Cecilia O’Sullivan President of Clare Community Games, Mr Thomas Healy Chief Operating Officer of St Francis Cred it Union and his wife Brid, Councillor Ann Norton and her husband Cathal Brodie, Mr Mark Hanrahan and Mr Niall Murphy very distinguished talented Athletes and present and past members of the county executive committee. The Special Guests presented the children with their awards.

Mr Thomas Healy said St Francis Cred

it Union were delighted to be sponsors of Clare Community Games.

He said he was very happy to announce that St Francis Credit Union will continue to sponsor Community Games for the coming year. He congratulated all the children re ceiving the awards and all the volunteers.

Councillor Ann Norton congratulated all the children receiving awards.

Chairperson Paula Byrne O’Connell thanked Treacy’s West County Hotel, all the participants during the year, their par ents, coaches, area committees and spon sors without whom there would be no Com munity Games. Paula invited anyone that might be interested in getting involved in the County Committee to attend the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 1st Novem ber.

NI system needs update

EOIN NEYLON

Political insight

OVER the week end, Collins dictionary chose to make permacrisis their word of the year.

Given the shambles of governance failure we’ve seen from our nearest neighbour, this move comes as no surprise. Once considered the model dem ocratic system to emulate, the British parliamentary system has descended into the kind of farce that not

as that comment is. The fact that Britain has a Prime Minister and Home Secretary of Asian decent enacting the Brexit policies is all the more ironic. Yet this omnishambles Tory administration is being changed with trying to fix a parliament that is arguably in even more of a mess than Westminster; Stormont.

The six month time lim it, from the last election, for the NI Assembly to

fit for purpose. The NI of today is a very different one to that of a quarter century ago when the Good Friday agreement was signed (by all major parties except the DUP).

The system established then was a good starting point, but the scene has changed dramatically since. Certain parties saw the fundamental flaw in the system and raced to exploit it. Under the power sharing directive currently in place, one party doesn’t need to be the biggest, most widely supported party to attain control of political pro ceedings in the North.

No, all you need to do is to become top dog in your community, be it Nation alist or Unionist, and then you automatically have deal making/breaking powers. The DUP went full on into scaremongering election eering mode to topple the previously dominant UUP position. This became the blueprint to follow.

even great satirists like Armando Iannucci would dare to pen.

With everything that has gone on since the disastrous Brexit vote in 2016, there was a degree of inevitability about it all. At the end of the day, the impossible Brexit promises and undeniable damage it has done to the UK econo my, are a mess of their own making no Brexit support ing politician is likely to ever be able to clean up.

Let’s face facts, Brex it wasn’t about trade or business regulations, it was about immigrants. Com ments over the weekend by disgraced, yet somehow re-instated, Home Sec retary Suella Braverman underscored that when she referred to refugees fleeing war as an “invasion” of Britain.

Having met enough Brexiteers over the subse quent years, it’s clear what the prevailing motivation has been all along; they exited the EU to stop Asian and African people coming to the UK, as nonsensical

elect a Speaker has been and gone and the Northern Ireland Secretary of the UK Government has failed to call fresh elections as he is legally obliged. Another round of talks has instead been called this week in an attempt to break the dead lock, but unless the EU and UK talks substantially change the Northern Ire land Protocol (NIP) within this week’s separate talks in Brussels, then the talks in Belfast between the politi cal parties there, facilitated by the UK Government seem utterly pointless. The DUP have made it clear; they are not for turning.

Fresh elections would only, if polls are to be believed, further entrench the three main parties position with in the Assembly with SF leading the DUP, followed closely by the Alliance.

If the DUP can throw their weight around to sub vert the democratic will of the people to get their own way, they will.

The system of gover nance in Northern Ireland is, in my view, no longer

However, as the last cou ple of election cycles in the North have proved, there is a third way emerging in NI, with a large number of voters now backing parties that are neither Nationalist nor Unionist. The rise of the Alliance, and to a lesser degree, the Greens and PBP there has shown that a large, and growing, portion of the population are done with green versus orange politics.

In such a scenario, is it a fair system that relegates these parties to bit players, there to make up the num bers? It’s clear to me that the only way forward is to fundamentally change the NI system of governance such that a government can be formed with the participation of at least one Nationalist, one Unionist and one "other” party, all of whom must attain a certain minimum percent age of the vote and have the numbers to command a majority.

Not only would it be more representative, but it would also serve to tran sition the North to a more normal political landscape.

A large part of the social and economic future of the whole island depends on how this impasse gets solved.

lThe Good Friday Agreement

Killaloe’s Thinking Toys win the 2022 leadership prize

Tadhg Holland

KILLALOE’S

Thinking Toys has walked away with the leadership prize from the 2022 Lean Business awards.

The prestigious award show, which took place in Croke Park last month, gave a prize to Thinking Toys for an overall organisational change in their business. The award is a recognition of Thinking Toys’ 18 years in the business of sensory specific products.

The company began in 2004 after its founder Áine Conacur realised how few toys were available for her daughter Ailis and other children with special needs. “Ailis was born in London with a condition called Sturge-Weber syndrome. Essentially, she had very bad epilepsy and developmental delay. Then we moved back to Ireland, and I’d be buying things from England, America, Europe because I wasn’t able to source things in Ireland for her,” explained Áine.

“When she was eight or nine and in school, I was looking for a part time job around school hours and Michael, my husband, who’s an accountant, said you’re always giving out about lack of resources why don’t you do something about it. I thought that’s a great idea so that’s where it started, just as a little number for me and within two years Michael had joined me because we were just flat out,” she said.

Almost two decades later the business has turned into one of Killaloe’s most successful enterprises with nine people employed in the business including Ailis, now 26, who works part-time with them.

Despite all the time that has passed Áine says mainstream toy retailers still don’t cater well for those with special needs. “I don’t think [mainstream retailers] quite grasp it but I suppose it’s two fold really, as a parent starting out you’re bewildered and you’re suddenly hit with a lot of language, ‘fine motor skills’, ‘growth motor skills, ’visual perception’, ‘sensory perception’, you name it you’re hit with it and it kind of takes you a while to get your head around what that actually means for your child. So, that’s what I try to do with my website, I’ve tried to set it up so that the parent can easily find out what the child needs. Then

the other thing we’ve done is getting the pitch right for your child, a lot of kids with special needs will have poor fine motor skills and an OT will continuously tell you to do threading activities. So, you might go into a regular toy shop and find threading activities but they tend to be at the higher end of ability, so what I do is start off at the easiest level of threading and work it step by step so you can move your child along. That’s what I think is one of the biggest problems, for our kids you need to break the activity down into easily achievable steps and it’s about having those all in one place”.

For Áine the most important thing is to meet your child at their pace, “one thing I always say to parents is that you follow your child’s lead, you can’t force your child to do a jigsaw especially if they’re visual perception skills are weak. What you have to do is make the jigsaw interesting to them, it doesn’t matter if you do all the pieces and they do one piece, that’s success. Like with Alis when we began with connect four, she was just posting the pieces in, but I was happy because she was having to pick them up and grasp them and then post them. Then I moved her on to doing little patterns like three red, two yellow, three red, two yellow, and see if she could copy that and now you’re sequencing. Then when she was nine or ten because she loved that game and was very comfortable with it I thought her the rules and now she’s 26 and we call her the connect 4 queen because she will beat you hands down, so with our activities if you can pull them into it you can get longevity out of them”.

Despite the business growing extensively since its beginnings of selling toys from a physical shop to now supplying parents, schools, and HSE therapists throughout the country online, Áine has no plans to take the business out of her native Killaloe, “It’s great [being in Killaloe], I can walk to work everyday there’s no travel time. After Ailis’ surgery and diagnosis, my family were all back here and I remember I was awake one night, I couldn’t sleep, and then the next morning I said ‘Mick I want to go home but I want to go home to my home, Killaloe’, he had no say in it”.

Hill Road, Killaloe, Co. Clare

Founder Áine and daughter Ailis Conacur

BUSINESS AND RECRUITMENT

CONTACT US WE’RE ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM #CE

Torpey launch sustainable athleisure wear range

pact on the environment. It also hopes to re flect the modern passion the new generation have for lifestyle and sport and their aware ness for the future they want to create where ‘slow fashion’ becomes the norm rather than the alternative.

Designed and developed over a three year period in conjunction with ‘Zero Waste’ Irish fashion designer Sarah O’Neill, the col lection is made with a low carbon footprint in Portugal, garments will not only make you look good but also feel good, inside and out! A key focus has been the utilisation of natural and circular materials such as bam boo, recycled polyester, recycled ny lon and organic cotton in conjunc tion with eco-friendly water-based fabric dying treatments.

All garments are manufactured under high levels of certification including the OEKO TEX standard 100 (tested for harmful substanc es), GOTS (Global Organic Textile standard) and GRS (global recycling standard) certification. These were verified by private trips to partner factories by members of the Torpey product development team.

land’s leading GAA stars and style icons in cluding 2021 Hurler of the year, Limerick’s Cian Lynch and 2021 Camogie All Ireland winner, Galway’s Orlaith McGrath who will appear on all website and social media im agery.

Tune into various social channels over the coming weeks for our pre-launch, with full launch expected in early November.

Visit torpey.ie for further information on all products. Follow on social: @torpey_ap parel on Instagram and @torpey.ie on Tik Tok.

INSTRUCTOR - ELECTRICAL (x 2 POSTS)

LEADING

sporting goods brand Torpey are taking a fresh look at Irish style by launching a Limited Collection of premium athleisure apparel for their growing commu nity – Honest x Torpey.

As a modern Irish brand Torpey have offered high quality, performance-focused hurling products over the past 40 years and are a leading, innovative influence in the

sport of hurling. Following on the heels of the ground-breaking sustainable hurley in novation Torpey Bambú, Honest x Torpey continues the company mission of ‘Lead Never Follow’. Its ambition is to extend this influence beyond hurling products to bring more sustainable and ethically-made athlei sure to people with an active lifestyle.

The Honest collection will offer style conscious athleisurewear that lowers the im

This Limited Collection is made up of a combination of styles, in cluding the unisex Honest Unicrew, and Honest Unihoodie, the female Honest Power Top and Honest Pow er Leggings set, and finally the men’s Honest Gym Tee, Honest Organic Tee and Honest Jogger.

Through the design and develop ment process Torpey have received positive feedback from some of Ire

Businesses to receive boost for Renewable Energy Initiatives

BUSINESSES in Clare’s coast al communities are being encouraged to apply for the Brexit Blue Economy Enter prise Development Scheme, with funding of up to €200,000 available for Renewable Ener gy Initiatives, writes Elaine Tubridy

Under the Scheme, blue economy businesses operat ing within 10 kilometres of the coastline are being en couraged to go green and can apply for funding to support

plans for controlling their en ergy costs and improving their sustainability.

With €25 million avail able, the aim of the Scheme is to stimulate growth in rural coastal communities post-Brexit. The Scheme is an initiative of the Government of Ireland and the European Union, and is being adminis tered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and delivered through Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs).

Brenda O’Riordan, BIM Re gional Officer, said the scheme has already received some promising and innovative proposals across a range of blue economy businesses from seafood, coastal tourism, boat building and repair, to marine leisure and sport.

“With these grants, blue economy businesses can start to take greater control of their energy costs and become more sustainable by helping to reduce emissions and the im

pact on our environment.”

The largest of its kind ever, the scheme is open to three streams of projects: Capital Investment, Business Mentor ing & Capacity Development, and Upskilling & Training.

Full details about the Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise De velopment Scheme, including how to apply, can be found at www.bim.ie

SPECIFIC PURPOSE CONTRACTS TO JANUARY 2024 College of Further Education and Training, Shannon Campus, Clare

A PANEL OF COVER INSTRUCTORS MAY BE FORMED.

Ref. No. 012561

COVER INSTRUCTOR PANEL

In the following subject areas at Colleges of Further Education & Training - Raheen and Shannon Campuses Information Technology Engineering Communications and Teamwork General

Ref. No. 012562

Online application form and further details are available on www.lcetb.ie/recruitment Closing time and date for receipt of online applications is 12 noon Thursday 10th November 2022

Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Canvassing will disqualify.

lCONSCIOUS FASHION: The Honest x Torpey apparel was designed over a three year period

Business Excellence Awards 2022 finalists announced

THEfinalists in the Clare Business Excel lence Awards 2022 were announced today (Thursday, Novem ber 3). As is typical across the 12 years of these awards, the finalists hail from every corner of our en terprising county.

Ennis Chamber launched ‘Clare Business Excellence Awards 2022’ at the end of June, with Clare County Council once more stepping up as the awards’ main sponsor and supporter. Indepen dent adjudicators, Spotcheck NI, were recruited to complete mys tery visits and reviews for catego ries involving retail, hospitality, tourism and customer service. Adjudication for these categories took place over the busy months of August and September. For categories where judging was based on written submissions an independent expert panel was es tablished to adjudicate.

Commenting on the quality of entries for this year’s Clare Busi ness Excellence Awards, Pres ident of Ennis Chamber Colin Ryan said, “We were delighted to receive so many entries, espe cially after the difficult COVID years and our independent judg es tell us that the standards were right back to where they were pre-Covid within our customer facing categories, which is a great testament to the professionalism of these businesses and to their commitment to customer ser vice."

He added, “There is a great variety of businesses from right across County Clare represented amongst this year’s finalists, both in terms of the sectors they rep resent and where they are based. I’m sure there will be great excite ment at the Gala Awards to be held at glόr on November 24.”

The Awards Gala is a great oc casion for the finalists and their staff but is also a great occasion to network with businesses from across the county in a relaxed, fun environment.

Together with the announce ment of individual category win ners on the night of the awards, Clare County Council will also present the overall ‘Clare Busi ness of the Year 2022’ Award, chosen from amongst the catego ry winners.

In a new departure for the awards, winners of the three community-based awards are an nounced this week, but recipients will have to wait until November 24th to receive their award!

Tickets for the awards gala on Thursday November 24 are avail able from glor box office and on line at www.glor.ie.

COMMUNITY CATEGORY WINNERS

lENTERPRISE: Ennis Chamber President Colin Ryan and Vice President Sheila Lynch

BEST VOLUNTARY/COMMUNITY GROUP IN CLARE

Sponsored by St Francis Credit Union Winner: Cuimhneamh an

by

Sponsored by Clare County Council and Ennis Chamber

Sweet N Green Café

Shannon Springs win triple crown at Irish Hotel Awards

ELAINE TUBRIDY news@clareecho.ie

THEShannon Springs Hotel have scooped no less than three acco lades at this year's Irish Hotel Awards. The re cently refurbished four-star hotel took home the Airport Hotel of the Year Award, while Sales and Mar keting Manager Lisa Glynn left with an award in each hand. Lisa initially won the Marketing Man ager Award for Munster, before being announced as the national winner.

"I'm still in shock," Lisa re marked of her win.

Close to 400 people from every sector of the hospitality industry joined together to celebrate the best of the best at The Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone last week.

Shane Smith, Director of NI Media who runs the Irish Hotel Awards said: “It’s been a while but we’re back with a bang. The tur moil that we've all been through was like nothing any one of us could have possibly imagined but thankfully the industry is getting back on its feet. This is of course great news for the sector and the standards that are being met, par ticularly considering staff shortag es are simply outstanding.

"The people who attended

should be very proud, keeping a ship sailing with a captain and di minished crew is nothing less than a major achievement.

"The Irish Hotel Awards report on each property contains no less than 280 points which must be addressed - making it what we be

lieve to be one the most in depth in Ireland. To say reports blew us away with the levels of excellence is an understatement.

"We were also thrilled with the response to our Star Awards where hotel teams nominate members of their staff for an award. The re

REVEAL

spect, value and camaraderie that shone through when people were describing their colleagues was really heart-warming. "A massive thank you to Chef Adrian Caslin and his team at the Radisson Blu Hotel Athlone and also to our din ner sponsors who make such a dif

ference to the quality of our menu – Dingle Gin, Traditional Cheese Company, Andarl Farm, Bluebell Falls Goat’s Cheese, Johnson’s Cof fee and Lindt Chocolate.”

The Irish Hotel Awards is spon sored by AIBMS, Clearer Water and YesChef Magazine.

Christmas at Carrigoran 2022

CARRIGORAN Health & Wellness Day Centre is delight ed to announce "The Christ mas Experience at Carrigoran 2022".

This one day fundraising event promises to be a great day out for all the family! Ticket prices are all inclusive and fea ture a fantastic line up such as; a visit with Santa, digital picture & small gift for the children, a thrilling ride on our Christmas golf buggy sleighs, a hunt in the garden for the Greedy Grinch, free hot chocolate/mulled wine, face painting, story time with Mrs Claus and last but not least letter writing & games with Santa’s crazy Christmas elves!

While the Santa Experience is a ticketed event, Carrigoran are also hosting a Christmas market which is FREE for all to attend on the day. There will also be a selection of hot food

& snacks available in the Cozy Cafe on-site on the day and tickets will be available for en try to a fantastic raffle with lots of amazing prizes to be won!

This fun filled, one day event is NOT TO BE MISSED.... it will run from 1pm-9pm Sunday 11th December at the Heath & Wellness Centre in Carrigoran, Newmarket-on-Fergus. Tick ets are available on a first come first served basis and can be found online at www.carrigora nhouse.ie. This is the one event you do not want to miss this Christmas! HoHoHo!

For queries regarding book ings please contact Veronica on 087 1798392 or you can email health@carrigoranhouse. ie Some time slots are already booked out so book early to avoid disappointment!

lBEAMING: The Shannon Springs Hotel team attending the Irish Hotel Awards at The Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone

lRIBBON CUTTING: Pictured at the official opening celebration of Dairygold Co-Op Superstores Parteen Co Clare are Barry McCormick, Tom Neville, Breeda Curtin, Jack Power, Brian Galvin, Pat Curtin, with John O'Carroll, Head of Retail at Dairygold, John O'Gorman, Chairman, Dairygold, Tim O'Shea, Store Manager Co-Op Superstores Parteen, Conor Galvin, CEO, Dairygold

From tears of sorrow to tears of joy for Éire Óg captain Cooney

by DEREK DORMER

FOR TWO YEARS running, Gavin Cooney had the honour of walking up the steps of Cusack Park to lift the Jack Daly for Éire Óg.

Never before had Éire Óg claimed back to back titles but Ennis clubs in the guise of Ennis Dalcassians and Ennis Faughs had done so.

Moments after captaining his side to Clare SFC glory for the second year on the trot, Cooney’s thoughts were with his Éire Óg hurling team mates. “Last week this place was sombre, we had tears of sorrow, each and every one of us but today it’s tears of joy”.

Arguably the fan favourite of the side, Cooney was mobbed by chil dren hunting for autographs. “It’s

about inspiring the next generation, we want them to be Éire Óg foot ballers or hurlers but we want them to walk up them steps just like we did. To be honest I’m just collecting the Cup. The lads are an amazing group, a truly special bunch and we will do anything for each other”.

Self-belief and patience were key to their success, Gavin told The Clare Echo. “We knew we had to start well and get a score on the board. If we went behind it would have been hard because they would have had something to defend. We knew they would sit back and crowd out the space. They were al ways going to make it difficult but thankfully we are so solid at the back, it means we know that if we get a few scores we will be in a good

place. We haven’t conceded a goal in two years so with that statistic you are always going to be in a good place come full time”.

On what is next, the Clare foot baller reiterates the Paul Madden line of it being all about the next sixty minutes. “Last week was dev astating but we knew we had to refocus for today. It’s all about the next game, the next challenge, the next sixty minutes. We will enjoy a few days celebrating but we let our selves down last year in Munster. We have enormous potential so we have to try target Munster now. We’ve been here before and we will enjoy today but we will regroup and try give Munster a proper rattle”.

‘Fierce disappointment’ for Ennistymon with county final outcome

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

ENNISTYMON can take more positives than nega tives from their 2022 Clare SFC campaign but they remain dejected with the outcome of Sunday’s coun ty final.

Mark Shanahan’s charges lost out 0-09 0-06 to Paul Madden’s Éire Óg in Sunday’s final, the Ennis side claiming back to back honours at the expense of the North Clare outfit.

As ever, there was no complaints from the always dignified Shanahan at the final whistle. “County final day is about the winners and con gratulating the winners, they are worthy champions, congrats to Éire Óg and we wish them all the best in the Munster club”.

In his view, Éire Óg’s winning experience helped see them through. “It’s hard to tell straight after the game but they are a fairly well tuned machine at this stage, they had the bit more experience and knowhow, they were a bit marginally better than us, that’s

FACTFILE

ÉIRE ÓG:

Frees for: 14 (7/7)

Wides: 3 (2/1)

Spread of scorers: 4

Scores from play: 0-02

Top scorer: Gavin Cooney (0-06 4f 2M)

Bookings: Mark McInerney (28), Ciaran Russell (32).

Own kickouts won:

ENNISTYMON:

the bottom line”.

Shanahan is in his third tenure as Ennistymon manager, the previous stint saw them also contest the Clare SFC final in 2018 where St Joseph’s Mil town proved too strong. Comparisons were difficult to make in the immediate aftermath of the latest loss, “The initial feeling straight after is just fierce disap pointment, I can’t really (draw any similarities or differences), 2018 seems like a lifetime ago now. The initial thing is how gutted we are to lose a final”. How Ennistymon kept battling until the end, scor ing three of the final four scores was a positive, he acknowledged. “That’s very pleasing, we kept fight ing in fairness, we just weren’t quite good enough, we’ve to learn from it and take all the positives out of the year, there’s loads of them it’s been a very positive year so we’ll take them out and try learn from today”.

“Even losing today they showed the right charac ter, it augurs well for the future,” he told The Clare Echo. “We’ll look back on the year and try get as much as we can, there’s so many positives to be taken and we’ll attack next year”.

Frees for: 21 (15/6)

Wides: 4 (1/3)

Spread of scorers: 4 Scores from play: 0-03

Top scorer: Brendy Rouine (0-02 2f) and Sean Rouine (0-02 1M)

Bookings: None Own kickouts won:

Victorious Éire Óg captain, Gavin Cooney raises the Jack Daly Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Ennistymon captain Adam Ralph Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SCAN

‘I lit a candle for Pat Fitzpatrick & he was looking down on us’ - Madden knows value of success to Éire Óg

by PÁRAIC MCMAHON

ÉIRE Óg man to the core, it’s fitting in a way that such a genuine clubman like Paul Madden holds the distinc tion of managing their senior footballers to back to back titles for the first time.

APROUD

Unsurprisingly, Paul was beaming mo ments after the final whistle of their 0-09 0-06 win over Ennistymon.

Many things made him proud, how they managed the game was among them. “It was never about doing back to back it was about winning every game as I said to you during the week, when you’re in a final you can start to think about the possibility of a back to back. The hurt of last week really stuck in, we asked the lads to bottle the emotion and

mon’s defensive approach with focus placed on this by Éire Óg prior to the final. “We planned for it and we knew it was going to be like that. Most teams nowadays are going to try and keep their defensive side of things going. I’ve been at all of Ennistymon’s games this year, they’d beaten the favourites every single week, they’ve a never say die attitude and they kept going till the end again. We haven’t conceded a goal in two years domes tically which is some achievement even with the young fella (Shane Daniels) in goal, he had a great save to pull off today and once we kept the goals out we knew we would have a chance to win”.

Over the past two seasons, Madden’s charges have overcome all tests thrown their way including Kilmurry Ibrickane, St Breck an’s, Corofin, St Joseph’s Miltown, Clonde gad and Doonbeg. “We’ve been beaten once

as good as you like but if you’re not willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter. The lads worked really hard especially in the sec ond half today”.

Winning back to back titles was very special for the owner of the Temple Gate Hotel. “Personal ly for me this one is extra special, we lost a couple of club members Pat Fitzpatrick being one, I lit a candle for him last night to be honest because he definitely was looking down on us and helping to push Aaron Fitz gerald an extra foot in the air to catch those balls and come out with them and Darren O’Neill, it’s extra special for me and also on the basis as a player I expe

rienced the opportunity to win back to back titles but we lost it, for this group of lads to do that it makes them a very good team,” The Clare Echo.

In his acceptance speech, captain Gavin Cooney paid tribute to Pat Fitzpatrick and Jack Heaslip in a classy gesture. “Jack and Pat were great clubmen. You can see it today, the people on the pitch last week commiser ating with the hurlers are all here today cele brating with us, it’s a one club mod el and in fairness the players real ly buy into that”.

Éire Óg Photos by Gerard O’Neill

Éire Óg captain Gavin Cooney celebrates with team mates

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Aaron Fitzgerald showshis delight with Éire Óg’s back to back success

Russell revels in boost for Éire Óg’s next generation

by DEREK DORMER

NOT ALONE did they create his tory in winning successive ClareSFC titles for Éire Óg but wing back Ciaran Russell acknowledged the importance of their win in inspiring the next crop of club talent.

Youngsters flocked around ÉireÓg players at the final whistle to get autographs and pictures with some of the county champions. Ciaran Russell was in demand, he took his time with each one, ask ing them how they are and making them feel part of this historic day.

“We have to be role models and they inspire the next crop of play ers. I had heroes growing up and you have to make the kids feel special as it will be their turn one day please God,” Russell told The Clare Echo.

As one of the dual players who played in the hurling decider losing by a single point to Ballyea, Cia ran stressed that the footballers’ win was for everyone in the club. “Losing last week hurt. I’m not go ing to lie, I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it but today we said we would play for the club. This is a victory for the whole club, parents, coach es, hurlers, footballers, everybody really. We wanted to make everysingle Éire Óg person feel like win ners today. We wanted to make sure we didn’t feel like we did last Sunday and I hope that everyone involved with this club will enjoy

tonight in the clubhouse”.

A regular in Colm Collins’ Clare team, Ciaran admitted that the county final was a very frustrating game to play in. “I felt we were losing at half time even though we were two up. I was just so frustrat ed. It was a nightmare game to be honest. Thankfully though we have shown that we can play against any style. Today was a tough test, one of the toughest tests in the two years of success because they will frustrate you. We had a chat at half time and we are lucky we have lads with great self belief. They make you feel confident that if we kept going, kept working hard that we would get the victory”.

Celebrations are first and fore most on the agenda but the Garda was anxious for Éire Óg to make their mark in Munster. “We must celebrate this for a few days, county titles are not easy win so we have to enjoy it but we must then refocus. It’s about the next sixty minutes and we feel we have unfinished business in Munster. We have to aim high because we have some great players, some great players coming through and some players who didn’t play to day so the future is bright and we will savour every moment,” he said with a smile of a two time county champion across his face.

Hurling defeat strengthened resolve of David Mc & Éire Óg footballers

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

ÉIREÓG were driven on by the devastation of los ing the Clare SHC final by a single point in their quest to retain the county football title, midfielder David Mc Namara has said.

A powerful presence at wing-for ward for the hurlers, McNamara was equally as forceful all year for the footballers forming a strong midfield partnership with Darren O’Neill.

For players in the middle third, trying to break down a strong En nistymon defensive setup was far from easy, he admitted. “We knew that coming into it that Ennisty mon if they came up to the 45m line would go back to their goalkeeper if they could to just hold possession, in fairness in the first half they frustrat ed us and it was 0-03 0-01”.

Aiding their ability to cope with the Ennistymon approach was the patience in their play, a trait that has been drilled into them since Seanie Buckley’s arrival as coach two years ago. “Seanie Buckley came in as a coach and has been training us based

on that, it takes patience and once that gap comes we have to take it, in the first half the gaps weren’t really coming, we were getting a bit frus trated with a good few turnovers but we got our few scores in the second half and held out then thank God”.

At half-time, there was a determi nation in the Éire Óg dressing room to bring an even stronger display.

“When we went in at half time we were disappointed with our perfor mance, I think in the second half there was more holes and we got more opportunities and we took them. We’re delighted with the win, it’s a great feeling”.

An audit trainee with Grant Thornton, David said the hurlers falling short in their bid to claim the Canon Hamilton strengthened the resolve of the footballers not to exit the county grounds without Jack Daly in their arms.

“Last week was a massive disap pointment, obviously we were gutted over it and it probably took most of the week to get over it but we came back training on Wednesday eve ning, we met Monday night and we said we had to bounce back and there was no doubt about it that we weren’t leaving Cusack Park without the cup”.

Young Townies look on from the Cloister end of Cusack Park

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

David McNamara

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

‘It’s for the family more than anyone else’ - Tony Kelly All Stars for Kelly, O’Donnell & Fitzgerald

by PÁRAIC MCMAHON

TONY KELLY, SHANE O’DONNELL AND DAVID FITZGERALD have been named as All Stars for 2022.

A fourth All Star accolade has been secured by Tony Kelly on a week where he also won his fourth Clare SHC medal with Ballyea. The St Flannan’s teacher now joins his current coun ty manager, Brian Lohan and staff colleague Jamesie O’Connor who also have four All Stars to their name, the most won by any Clare hurler to date.

David Fitzgerald becomes the first hurler from Inagh/Kilnamona to win a coveted All Star and it follows his best campaign at senior level in the saffron and blue. 2022 was the first time he re ceived an All Star nominee.

Shane O’Donnell a member of the senior panel since 2013, the year in which he scored an unfor gettable 3-03 in the All-Ireland final replay earns his first All Star.

Kelly was named in the full-forward line, O’Donnell in the half forward line and Fitzgerald at midfield on the team which was once again dominated by Limerick.

Other Clare hurlers to get nominated but who did not make the final fifteen include, Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg), Paul Flanagan (Ballyea), Diarmuid Ryan (Cratloe), David McInerney (Tul la), John Conlon (Clonlara) and Ryan Taylor (Clooney/Quin).

resentatives and one from Galway.

Clare football captain, Eoin Cleary (St Jo seph’s Miltown) had been nominated once again for an All Star. The football team saw All-Ireland champions Kerry occupy seven spaces followed by five from beaten finalists Galway, two from Ul ster winners Derry and one from Leinster cham pions Dublin.

Diarmaid Byrnes was named as Hurler of the Year, David Clifford collected the Footballer of the Year while the Young Hurler of the Year gong went to Kilkenny corner back Mikey Butler, the football equivalent went to Galway’s Jack Glynn.

RESPONSIBILITY OF minding Tony Kelly’s ever growing collection of All Star awards lies firmly with his parents, Donal and Moira.

On Friday, the Ballyea man joined Brian Lohan and Jamesie O’Connor at the top of the list of Clare All Star win ners. David Fitzgerald became the first member of the Inagh/Kilnamona club to win a coveted All Star with Shane O’Donnell of Éire Óg also getting his hands on the accolade for the first time.

Speaking at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Tony expressed his delight that Fitzgerald and O’Donnell were also rec ognised. “It’s always nice at the end of the year I suppose when there’s individ ual awards, it’s an unusual night in that you get to spend it with lads from oth er counties that you spend the full year training and plotting for and going to battle against, it’s a good night and I’m delighted for the couple of Clare lads that picked them up”.

Though delighted for the duo, he wasn’t surprised. “I thought the two boys would definitely get one, Fitzy and Shane had excellent years, it’s special for them, it’s their first, I’m delighted for them, it’s great to have the night back with everyone together, the last cou ple of years has been unusual with no event”.

Kelly added, “The awards are nearly more for the family than anyone else, they are probably happier than the play ers collecting them, it’s a bit of recogni tion for them, the awards will probably be in their house forevermore when lads move out they probably won’t be bringing them with them, it’s more for them than anyone else”.

On the whereabouts of his expanding

All Star collection, Tony said, “They’re in the home house, they’re keeping doors from closing, the mother and fa ther will be looking after them, it’s more for them than anyone else”.

For Kelly to win the All Star and Paul Flanagan to be nominated at corner back served as “a big week for the club” off the back of Ballyea’s fourth Clare SHC title. “In Ballyea we’ve been lucky than in the last five or six years we’ve happened to get our hands on four of them, it’s massive, we’re in a golden pe riod for our club which is mighty, we’re under no illusion that it will turn and we’ll be fighting to stay senior in a few years, we’re trying to enjoy it, it’s mas sive winning with your club, it’s where we all start and where we all finish”.

Focus is firmly on Ballyea for now but Kelly & Co will be returning to Brian Lohan’s set up once their club commit ments conclude. “Every management up and down the country is planning and probably have lads back in the gym preparing for next year, with the split season if you went from now until April that’s when the first championship game is, it’s only five or six months away so it’s coming thick and fast, it’s one to look forward to and one to relish especially in Munster you need to hit the ground running and get up to Limerick’s stan dard and then you’ve everyone else in Munster trying to chase them”.

On Clare’s targets for next year, the St Flannan’s college school teach er outlined, “We’re trying to improve, we weren’t happy with the way the year finished, we took a lot of positives es pecially our Munster campaign which was quite good but we didn’t get over the line in Munster and we have to learn from that for next year, Limerick have set the standard the last five to six years, it’s up to us and the chasing pack to catch them, that’s the nature of sport and why we’re all addicted to it and mo tivated by it”

Limerick lead the way with seven of the team followed by Kilkenny’s four, the three Clare rep

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

Hurlers TJ Reid of Kilkenny, left, and Tony Kelly of Clare with their PwC All-Star award during the PwC All-Stars Awards 2022 show at the Convention Centre in Dublin Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Killian O’Connor hits the ground but gets a shot away

Photo by Chris Copley

Shane O’Donnell and (above) David Fitzgerald also presented with their PwC All-Star award

Matchplay winners crowned in Claregolf Championship

by SEAMUS HAYES

THE 2022 CLAREGOLF CHAMPIONSHIP season has been the most successful to date.

Since 2007, Claregolf has provided a very successful junior competitions structure in Co Clare for up-and-coming junior golfers. This structure provides fun events for juniors as young as eight years, playing a nine-hole short course series on measured, age-appro priate courses.

When these juniors reach the age of thir teen, they then graduate to play in the Park land, Links, and County Matchplay Champi onships, which are played on standard-length courses

The purpose of these County competi tions is to provide competitive experience and confidence for young Clare golfers, boys and girls, whose future ambitions are to take part in various Golf Ireland junior and adult championships and Inter Club matches. This year alone, sixteen juniors from Co Clare traveled around the country to take part in these events.

Week five of the men’s 9 hole competi tion (October 5 and 12) was won by Patrick McCoy with 22 points from Neil Slattery with 21 and Derek McCoy with 21. Derek McCoy was the winner for the weeks of October 17 and 24 with 22 points from Brendan Lennon with 21 and Shane Collins with 20.

The end of September competition was won by Patrick McCoy with 21 points from Rob Kelly with 20 and Declan Burke with 20.

Last week’s men’s seniors competition saw John O’Shaughnessy win category A from Con Ryan with Jimmy McManus in third spot. In category B, Jimmy Neville was the winner from James Linnane with Philip Hehir in third spot.

ENNIS GOLF CLUB:

Last week’s ladies competition at Ennis was won by Mary T McMahon (23) with 39 points. She had two to spare over Mary Mc Mahon (22) with Helen Harnett (28) in third spot with 34 points. Kitty Morris (14) won the gross with 16 points.

Celia O’Reilly (16) won the 9 hole compe tition with 21 points from Pat Leacy (19) who had 16 points.

with 38 points and Gary Kavanagh (25) won category 4 with 40 points.

Last week’s women’s mini hampers 13 hole stableford competition was won by Mar cella Killeen (24) with 29 points from Sara Broderick (22) with a similar score. In third spot was Shauna Burke (18) with 28 points.

In the Halloween surprise competition the winner was Marcella Killeen with 89 from Della Lally with 83, Phil Mulkerrins with 82, Siobhan Forde with 81, Anne Connolly with 80, Evelyn Fahey with 79, Margaret Whelan with 78, Patricia Wynne with 77, Mary Der van with 75 and Joan Fogarty with 73.

FANNY O’DEA’S SOCIETY

Gort was the venue for an outing for mem bers of the Fanny O’Dea’s golf society on Saturday when participants had to contend with windy conditions.

Alan Jackson (18) was the winner of the Jamesie Meere sponsored outing with 42 points and he had one to spare over T.J. Monahan (24) with third place filled by Tim Shanahan (27) with 38 points. James Whel an (21) was fourth with 36 points with Declan Kelly(21) in fifth place with 35 points.

Cathal Talty was the scramble winner while Paul Faughnan won nearest the pin with Bri an Kilker winning the long drive prize.

SIXMILEBRIDGE

Loughrea was the venue on Saturday for the Sixmilebridge society’s final outing of 2022. This was the Kevin Whelan memori al outing and the winner was Enda Quinlan from Barry Deasy with Denis Mulqueen in third spot followed by David Purcell.

John Chaplin won the front nine while Joe Murphy won the back nine. Adam Merriman won the golfer of the year award and the priz es will be presented at the society’s annual quiz night which will take place at Gleeson’s bar on Friday November 25.

EAST CLARE GOLF CLUB:

The final event of this year’s calendar was the County Matchplay Championships which took place at Dromoland Castle over the bank holiday weekend. Qualification to take part in this event was as a result of finishing first and second within the age groups U13, U14, U16, and U18 in the Parkland Champi onships which took place earlier in the year at East Clare golf club.

The Matchplay finals were played in great spirit and the two top matches went down the 18th and 19th holes in order to decide the winners. The 2022 Matchplay winners were; U13 MJ Hehir, Spanish Point, U14 Donnacha Halpin, Shannon, U16 Niall Melody, Dromo land Castle, and U18 Tom Clancy, Kilrush (pictured above).

DROMOLAND GOLF CLUB:

There was a big entry for the men’s and ladies Christmas hampers competitions at Dromoland where the format was singles stableford.

The winner of the men’s event, with 45 points, was Conor Finnucane and he had one to spare over Shane Ryan.

They were followed by Joe Walsh with 40 points, John Casey with 39 points, Bren dan Spicer with 38 points, Noel Purcell with 38 points and Diarmuid O’Connor with 38 points. Seamus Cusack, with 42 points, won the gross.

In the ladies hampers competition, Dervla O’Neill won category 1 with 45 points from Joan Ryan with 39 and Katrina O’Neill with 38.

The category 2 winner was Ann McMahon with 34 points from Deirdre Cooney with a similar score while Sandra Moylan was third with 33 points.

This week’s 9 hole stableford competition was won by Patrice Ryan (18) with 22 points from Della Burns (10) with 16 points and Lo retto Torpey (19) with 15 points.

Last week’s senior ladies competition was won by Frances O’Reilly, Eileen J. Corry, and Ann White with 49.6 from Claire Ruane, Car mel Verling and Brid Cunningham with 53. In third place with 54.8 were Pat Leacy, Ann Casey and Mary Gardiner.

In the previous week’s competition the win ners were Liz Kelly, Geraldine 0’Mahony and Alice D’arcy with 50.3 followed by Frances O’Reilly, Betty O’Reilly and Brid Cunning ham with 51.4 while third place was filled by Maeve O’Grady, Ann Casey and Margaret Flanagan with 51.8.

The weekend’s men’s fourball competition was won by Aaron Burke (17) and Alan Ryan (21) with 46 points from Patrick Cuddy (19) and Seamus McEnery (5) with 46 points. Brendan Nevin (27) and Andrew Turner (14) were third with 45 points followed by Ronan Herbert (3) and Frankie Meaney (12) with 44 points.

KILRUSH GOLF CLUB:

Sunday’s men’s singles competition at Kilrush was won by Neil Browne (5) with 41 points from Michael F. Ryan (7) with 39. In third spot with 38 points was Robert Kirwan (12) followed by Geremiah Brennan (11) with 35 points.

GORT GOLF CLUB:

The Bank holiday weekend men’s singles competition at Gort saw Gerry Donaldson (10) win category 1 with 43 points. Ritchie Glynn (13) was the winner of category 2 with 41 points, John Kelleher (18) won category 3

The winners of the ladies Wednesday competition at East Clare were Evelyn Ske han, Mary Stritch and Kate Doyle from Breda McCarthy, Marie A. Kelly and Phil Burke.

In the senior men’s competition last week the winners were Brian Corry, Tony McNulty and John Nihill from Jim Bradley, Michael Moloney and Tom Larkin with third spot filled by Terry Coughlan, Christy O Dea and John Farrell.

The Friday mixed scramble continues ev ery Friday morning at 10 a.m.

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

Fair Green Celtic players celebrate

Photo by Mark Hayes

Eugene McCafferty (Clare Youths)

Treaty Utd exit for Lynch & Collins

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

CLAREDUO, JACK Lynch and Joe Collins have confirmed their departures from Treaty Utd.

Both Lynch and Collins are exiting the League of Ireland First Division club as they prepare to emigrate to Australia and Barcelona respectively.

With a place in the history books of Treaty Utd already secured as the club’s first ever captain of the senior men’s side, Shannon’s Lynch has proven to be a fan’s fa vourite at Market’s Field. He was a member of the origi nal 26 man squad in 2021 after signing from Galway Utd.

During his time at Treaty, Jack made 49 appearanc es, scoring seven goals and making three assists. His unbelievable strike from the halfway line at home to Athlone Town in June of this year saw him pick up the SSE Airtricity League Goal of the Month award. Jack was also joint-recipient of the Treaty United Fans’ player of the month award for July 2021.

Ennis native Collins also signed from Galway Utd at the beginning of the 2021 season. He made 44 appearances which included two assists and scoring one memorable goal that saw Treaty United defeat Cork City at Turners Cross in July of 2021.

A two-time Oscar Traynor medal list, Joe featured for Galway District League Premier Division side West United prior to first appearing in the League of Ireland. Prior to this, he

lined out at a local level for Ennis Town FC.

Over the weekend, Waterford FC defeated Treaty to advance to the First Division promotion play-off semi-final after a 3-3 draw with Trea ty United, which saw them progress 7-4 on aggregate. Lining out along side Collins and Lynch for this en

Joe has been fantastic the last two seasons. He was brilliant tonight, Joe is a great lad and first and foremost they’re lovely people, both gentle men”.

In a statement, Jack said his time with Treaty was the “best two years of my footballing career and what ever comes next they’ll be tough to beat”. He said, “An oppor tunity to travel to Australia was not one that I could turn down, and so I won’t be resigning with the club next year”.

“It was a privilege to cap tain this club for the past two seasons, and I hope that this isn’t a goodbye, and that it us just a see you later,” the St Patrick’s Com prehensive School past pu pil said.

Banner Ladies bid for glory

Treaty Utd manager, Tommy Bar rett paid tribute to the departing duo. “We’d like to wish the boys that are leaving [the best of luck], the likes of Jack Lynch is going off trav elling, he’s going to Australia. He’s been an excellent captain, local lad, he’s been fantastic for two seasons. As I said, I thought he was brilliant there tonight. Joe Collins is going off as well, he’s going off to Barcelona.

He concluded by ac knowledging the efforts of all involved in bringing senior soccer back to the Mid-West. “Thank you to all of the staff and board members that worked tire lessly to bring back senior soccer to the region. I hope that over the past two years the performances on the pitch were some sort of repayment to the four that went into to bring Treaty to life. To the coaching staff and players that have been associated with the club over the last two seasons, you were all a part of something very special - from a play-off run in our first two season, to an FAI Cup semi final in our sec ond; you are a credit to yourselves and I’m very lucky to have shared a dressing room with ye. Lastly to the fans, I hope out performances on the pitch were some sort of repayment to the commitment ye showed us. It was a privilege to play in front of ye every week, and thank you for fol lowing us no matter where we went”.

BANNER LADIES will vie for Munster glory this Sunday as they take on Waterford giants, Ballymacarbry.

A county final win over Kilmihil saw Banner Ladies claim their thirteenth senior county title and this weekend they will line out in their fourth senior provincial de cider, having beaten Tipperary side Fethard in the semi-final.

Attempts to push back the final a week to allow Laurie Ryan line out for Athlone Town and Banner Ladies proved unsuccessful.

Apart from the loss of the tal ented Ryan, JJ O’Dea expects to have a full panel of players to pick from.

Ballymacarbry have won 41 county titles in a row but have not won the Munster title since 2000. Both sides are eager to take the title with Cork side Mourneabbey already eliminat ed.

Mallow is the venue for Sun day’s final which commences at 3pm.

Scariff/Ogonnelloe set sail on Munster journey

by PÁRAIC MCMAHON

SCARIFF/OGONNELLOE be gin the defence of their Mun ster senior camogie title this weekend.

Alphie Rodgers’ charges welcome Cork side Sarsfields to Dr Stuart Park in Ogonnel loe this Sunday where they will put their crown as Munster champions on the line. Tipper ary referee, Mike Ryan is to take charge of proceedings. Originally due to play the

Limerick champions, ongoing delays to the conclusion of the senior championship has put the Limerick campaign in doubt with Munster adminis trators granting Scariff/Ogon nelloe a bye to the Munster semi-final as a result.

For the second year in a row, Scariff/Ogonnelloe defeated Truagh/Clonlara in the county final, a three point margin sep arating them at the final whistle this time round.

Rodgers will be looking to the Daly sisters, Ciara Doyle,

Amy Barrett, Mairead Scanlan, Alva Rodgers and Abby Walsh as his side strive to qualify for the Munster final.

At 1:30pm, Dr Daly Park will host the Munster Junior Club Championship semi-final as Tulla welcome Adare to East Clare.

Tulla lost out to Clarecas tle/Ballyea in the intermediate final following a replay but as the Mid Clare club are an amalgamation they are not permitted to represent the county in Munster.

counter were Newmarket-on-Fer gus duo Callum McNamara and Lee Devitt.

Jack Lynch. Photo by Joe Buckley

Amy Barrett and Scariff/Ogonnelloe players celebrate with the McMahon Cup Photo by Ruth Griffin

Clare Hehir Photo by Gerard O’Neill

by PÁRAIC MCMAHON

Thy Kingdom come for Doora/Barefield & Banner Moroney to step down from Clare GAA Executive

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

CLARE’s

representatives in the Mun ster intermediate and junior hurl ing club championships take to the field this weekend.

Fresh from securing their return to the senior ranks, St Joseph’s Doora/Bare field welcome Kerry champions Causeway to Cusack Park this Saturday with the quarter-fi nal taking place at 1:30pm. A win for Michael Guilfoyle’s side would see them face Limerick champions Monaleen in the last four.

It has been a positive fortnight for The Par ish with their intermediates defeating Tulla following extra time while their U21A hurlers began their championship with a merited win over Sixmilebridge on Saturday evening. Top performers for the Christy O’Connor coached outfit included Adam Mungovan, Senan Cros bie, Dara Nagle, Matthew Power and Bruce Piggot all of whom are part of the intermediate set-up.

Also on Saturday, Banner GAA make the trip to Killarney where they face Kilgarvan in the Munster junior quarter-final.

Eliminated from the Clare Junior A cam paign at the quarter-final stage, the Ennis club have been training over the past month for the provincial clash and have got some challenge matches under their belt as part of this prepa ration. They will be able to call on Clare hurler Shane Meehan as they bid to finish the year on a high.

by PÁRAIC MCMAHON

SIMON MORONEY has informed Clare GAA officers that he is to step down from his role as Central Council Delegate, The Clare Echo has learned.

Éire Óg clubman Moroney is under stood to have surprised fellow officers at a meeting on Tuesday night when he outlined his intention to resign as Clare GAA’s Central Council delegate at Coun ty Convention later this year.

Elected in December 2019, Simon had not completed the maximum five year term allowed to officers.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Simon confirmed he was stepping down. “When the strategic plan was launched it spoke about getting new blood and perspec tives in to Clare GAA, I’m speaking with my actions and trying to get an infusion of new blood and actions in”.

“It’s not easy to get people to commit to the time involved in these positions but this gives an opportunity to express what was hoped for in the strategic plan, if people don’t vacate positions then new people won’t come into positions”.

Regarded as one of the most compe tent and respected administrators in the GAA, Simon was appointed secretary of Munster Council in 2004 when he re

placed Donie Nealon. He resigned from the post in 2008 but returned in 2013 when it was then called the CEO of Mun ster Council.

His return was initially to be for a nine month period but he remained until Jan uary 2018 when Simon again surprised colleagues when he announced his res ignation

Former GAA President, Liam O’Neill appointed him as Chairman of the pow erful Central Competitions Control Com mittee (CCCC).

Along with his current role as Cen tral Council Delegate, the Ennis man chaired the Caherlohan sub-committee established by Clare GAA to focus on the capital and redevelopment site of the facilities in Tulla.

From 1986 to 1988, he served as secretary of the Clare Hurling Board and was the first secretary of the Coun ty Board following the merger of both codes in 1989, staying in the role until 1990 when work commitments brought him to Dublin.

Cooraclare & Cree owners dominate winner’s enclosure in Galway

by MICHAEL MAHER

THE catch me if you can tactics were to the fore in the Novice 350 yards contest at Gal way on Friday night last as the Brid McMa hon of Cooraclare owned Lissatouk Blake never saw another rival once he left his trap one berth as he powered to a seven length success over Chicuitita in 19.29.

The son of Laughill Blake & Lissatouk Dol ly was very smartly into stride and halfway towards the opening bend his rivals were already battling for minor honours. Despite moving to the centre of the track approach ing the home bend Lissatouk Blake was home and hosed on straightening for home.

The first sprint contest on the card went in facile fashion to the Cree native David Browne owned Garryfine Sam who made it two wins from three starts by three and three quarter lengths over Liscarra Dream in 19.43 David is a member of the well know Browne Family who now resides in Garry fine, Co Limerick. The winner was away smartly and led from Monday Blues and Dynamic Logan racing towards the open ing bend. Maintaining a centre track route around the opening bend the son of Pat C Sabbath and Burnpark Leanne extended his advantage rounding the home bend as Liscarra Dream kept on well for the runner up slot.

In race three, the Mullins-Curtin Syndicate of Gort owned Pay It Forward who came in as a reserve in trap five became the third all the way winner on the night as the son of Sonic & Mrs Will proved three and three quarter lengths too strong for his rivals in this S7 graded sprint contest in 19.23. Very smartly into his stride PaynIt Forward led Derrymoyle Gem by three lengths ap proaching the opening bend where the lat ter closed to within two lengths. On straight ening for home though the winner extended again to draw clear of Derrymoyle Gem. In the early strides of the A7 graded con test Ranchers Bernie and Erris Holly disput

ed the lead with Burnpark Crash tucked in behind in third place rounding the opening bend. Racing down the back Erris Lady led by over a length to Burnpark Crash who be gan to take closer order passing halfway. Approaching the penultimate bend the Ma ria Browne of Cree owned Burnpark Crash edged to the front along the inner and from the third bend home the son of Crash & Ballyea Beauty extended his advantage to three & three quarter lengths at the line over Eileen’s Daisy in 29.34.

Having met trouble in two of his three ca reer outings thus far the Pat Hogan of En nis owned Aulton Rafa made it fourth time lucky in the A5 graded contest as he proved two and three quarter lengths too good for Ferryforth Jess in 29.26. Clooney Dasher was best away on the wide outside and led towards the opening bend where the Donal Duggan of Tulla trained winner railed well to emerge two lengths to the good enter ing the back straight. Racing along the back straight Aulton Rafa led by over four lengths as Ferryforth Jess went in pursuit but Aulton Rafa(Skywalker Rafa-Rylane Dubh) was gone beyond recall from halfway .

Saturday nights Galway card featured three second round heats of the Liam Brus sells Memorial A4 525 Stake generously sponsored by the Brussels Family. In the second heat Makita and Malbay Theo were both away well and they matched strides ahead of Killara Ivy approaching the open ing bend. Rounding the bend the red jack eted Makita railed well and turning down the back the Thomas and Oisin O’Connor owned Makita led by two lengths. Racing along the back the daughter Rising Bran dy and Drahbeg Princess extended her advantage to over three lengths as Malbay Theo and Killara Ivy gave chase but Makita eased home four lengths clear of Killara Ivy at the line in 29.29.

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield goalkeeper, Paul Madden photo by Gerard O’Neill

PLANNING LICENCE APPLICATIONS

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL MOVEEN-WEST, KILKEE, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Michael Keating Dip. Arch. (phone 085-8421780), on behalf of Alan Mahoney, intends to apply to Clare County Council for full permission for the renovation of an existing derelict building, to construct a singlestorey extension to the side & rear, construct new garage and create new site entrance (see previous Planning Ref. No. P21/616), connect to new wastewater treatment system and carry out all ancillary site works at Moveen-West, Kilkee, Co. Clare. 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 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 DOOLIN TLD., DOOLIN, CO CLARE

Take notice that Bernice O Connor intends to apply for permission to build a new dwelling house, install a wastewater treatment system & all other associated 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 DOONAGORE, DOOLIN, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Maghnus Hartigan intends to apply for PERMISSION FOR CHANGE OF USE OF THE EXISTING OFFICE TO DOMESTIC USE & EXTEND THE BUILDING, INSTALL A WASTE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM & ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE & 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

NOTICE OF FURTHER INFORMATION/ REVISED PLANS

Name of Applicant: Iona & John McGuinness Reference Number of the application: 22/282

Development Description; Permission for the construction of a 2 storey dwelling, detached domestic garage, onsite wastewater treatment system and percolation area, bored well, connection to necessary services, new entrance together with all associated ancillary and incidental site works

Take notice that Iona & John McGuinness have lodged Significant Further Information / Revised Plans in respect of planning application 22/282. 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 Chontae on 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 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 CLOUGHAUNSAVAUN, KILBAHA, KILRUSH, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Martin Walsh intends to apply for full planning permission to construct a slatted shed with an underground slurry storage tank for housing livestock on the site of the existing open topped slurry pit on his farm at Cloughaunsavaun, Kilbaha, Kilrush, Co. Clare. 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 on Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the planning application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL MARKET PLACE, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Jada Property Investments intends to apply to the Planning Authority of Clare County Council for planning permission for development at Market Place, Ennis, Co. Clare.

The development will consist of the construction of a two-storey infill building to an existing vacant site with ground floor retail unit, two storey duplex two bedroom apartment and first floor one bedroom apartment,

with connections to services. 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

ST. MARTINS, KILKEE ROAD, KILRUSH, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Eleanor & Patrick Fitzmaurice are applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to carry out alterations and extension to an existing dwelling house, removal of part of the front boundary wall to facilitate safe parking, along with all associated 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 Clare County Council during its public opening hours and 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.

Case No: D:LIC:ENIS:2022:011119

An Chuirt Duiche No. 66.1

The District Court Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 section 15

APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE

District Court Area of Ennis District No. 12

Mystic Tide Limited APPLICANT

TAKE NOTICE that the above-named Ap plicant Mystic Tide Limited of 3 Trimgate Street, Navan, Meath will apply to the Court sitting at Ennis District Court on the 25 November 2022 at 10:35 for a certificate un der section 15 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 (No. 2 of 1956), authorising the issue of a licence permitting gaming at an amusement hall or funfair, namely Imperial Entertainment situate at 67 Parnell Street, Ennis, Clare, V95 NH01 in said court area, subject to such conditions as may be im posed in accordance with section 15(4) of the said Act.

The number and kinds of games proposed to be carried on are as follows:- Number of Machines: 50

Gaming Type Details: Video roulette, as sorted fruit machines, video and slot gam ing machines

The period in the particular year to which this application relates for which the licence is sought is: 2023

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that the applicant will rely on the following matters in support of the application:-

Forms of Entertainment other than Gaming on the Premises: Assorted video games, TV entertainment, tea and coffee refreshments

Dated this 26th day of October 2022

Signed Michael Houlihan & Partners Solicitors LLP

Solicitor for Applicant 9/10/11 Bindon Street, Ennis, Clare

To the District Court Clerk at Ennis Dis trict Court

And to the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána at Ennis Garda Station, Ennis, Clare

And to the Fire Officer, Clare Fire Station, Ennis, Clare

And to County Council Clare, New Road, Ennis, Clare..

PLANNING

Recent Deaths

Garry, Jenny Kildysart, Clare

Date of Death: Saturday 29th October 2022

Roughan, Tom Ennis, Clare

Date of Death: Tuesday 1st November 2022

Daly (née McInerney), Mary Shannon, Clare

Date of Death: Monday 31st October 2022

Keane (née Johnson), Anne Ardnacrusha, Clare

Date of Death: Monday 31st October 2022

Murphy Alborante, Norah Ennis, Clare

Date of Death: Monday 31st October 2022

Nolan (née O’Neill), Ann Doonbeg, Clare

Date of Death: Tuesday 1st November 2022

Coleman, Tony (Anthony) Shannon, Clare

Date of Death: Monday 31st October 2022

Keane, Winfield Cratloe, Clare

Date of Death: Sunday 30th October 2022

Ryan (née Casey), Bridget Tulla, Clare

Date of Death: Monday 31st October 2022

Maguire (née O’ Neill), Brigid Shannon, Clare

Date of Death: Saturday 29th October 2022

Murphy (née Doyle), Breda Ennis, Clare

Date of Death: Sunday 30th October 2022

O’Hara, J.J. Cratloe, Clare

Date of Death: Sunday 30th October 2022 Crowley, Paul Ennis, Clare

Date of Death: Saturday 29th October 2022

MacMahon OFM, Fr. Joseph A. Ennis, Clare

Date of Death: Saturday 29th October 2022

Purcell, John Shannon, Clare

Date of Death: Friday 28th October 2022

Saunders (née Alexander), Maureen Shannon, Clare

Date of Death: Friday 28th October 2022

Conway, Pat Lahinch, Clare

Date of Death: Tuesday 11th October 2022

Cunniffe (née Philips), Christina (Chrissy)

Miltown Malbay, Clare

Date of Death: Friday 28th October 2022

Cusack, Anne Bunratty, Clare

Date of Death: Thursday 27th October 2022

Griffin (née O’Looney), Kathleen Kilmaley, Clare

Date of Death: Friday 28th October 2022

Prayer

THE MIRACLE PRAYER

Dear Heart of Jesus, In the past, I have asked for many favours. This time, I ask you This special favour. (Mention Favour) Take it dear Heart of Jesus, And place it within Your own broken heart

Where your Father sees it, Then in His Merciful Eyes It will become your favour Not mine. Amen.

Say this prayer for 3 days. Promise Publication.

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven. Blessed Mother of the son of God; Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

Oh, Star of the sea, help me and show me you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth! I humbly beseech from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity.

There are none who can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3x).

Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3x). Amen

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

The Clare Echo Quiz Clare People & Places

1Who was the last person to cap tain Clare to an all-Ireland hurling win Patrick Donnellan Shane O’Donnell Anthony Daly

2Which Heavyweight boxer was made free man of Ennis in 2009? Lennox Lewis Muhammad Ali Mike Tyson

3What Ennis based secondary school did Michael d Higgins attend? Ennis Community College Rice College St. Flannans

4John P holland, inventor of submarine, was born in which west Clare town? Liscannor Kilkee Doolin

5What 2021 film was partly filmed at Hag’s Head? Malignant Jolt Finding you

6Who does East Clare actor Frank Blake play in ‘Normal People’? Alan Niall Jamie

7Tuamgraney writer Edna O’Brien won what award in 2001? Irish PEN award Ulysses medal Writers’ guild award

8What Character does Ennis born actor; Denise Gough play in the film Monday? Stephanie Chloe Anna

9Before Eire Og, who were the last GAA club to be in a senior hurling and football final in the same year? Cratloe Wolfe Tones Shannon Ennistymon

10Kilnaboy born runner Sonnie Murphy ran in what Olympics? 1928 1932 1936

the Difference

l QUESTION 2: Which Heavyweight boxer was made free man of Ennis in 2009?

ANSWERS

1932

Cratloe

IrishPENaward 8:Chloe

By Cathal Culloo, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla

weeks answers

. Zip missing on jacket (right)

. Crest missing on shorts (rihgt)

. Purple hat different colour

Bib different colour

Findingyou 6:Alan

St.Flannans 4:Liscannor

MuhammadAli

Donnellan

. Arm and hand missing (left)

. hand missing (background right)

crest missing on hat (middle right)

Scariff/Ogonnelloe celebrate their win over Truagh/Clonlara in the McMahon Cup final

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

WORD SEARCH

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Portland Scotland Thailand Wetland Zetland

HOW TO PLAY Sudoku is a logic puzzle where you have to populate the grid with numbers. A number can appear only once in each row, column and house. Each puzzle can be solved using logic from the given information and requires no guesswork.

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