The Clare Echo 05/09/19

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O’Connor bids farewell to Clare hurlers

Departing boss urges board, ‘keep faith in Moloney’ PÁRAIC McMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

EXCLUSIVE

C

LARE joint senior hurling manager Gerry O’Connor has stepped down from his position after three years, The Clare Echo can exclu-

sively reveal.

Despite speculation that he would return alongside Donal Moloney, O’Connor confirmed to The Clare Echo that he has informed the Clare County Board of his departure in recent days.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Gerry confirmed he would not be involved in 2020. Thanking colleagues, supporters and family members, he strongly urged the County Board to consider Moloney for the upcoming year.

“I wish Donal and the management team all the best in the future and I hope they will be asked to consider another term,” the Killanena native added.

Full story Page 4

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5 Sep 2019

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Index 2-19

NEWS

RONAN SCULLY

14

AOIBHIN GARRIHY

20-21

ENTERTAINMENT

22-23

WINTER READY

24-25

BUSINESS

28-29

PROPERTY

31s-33

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 39 The Square, Ennis, County Clare Telephone: 065 671 9021

NEWSDESK

Email: editor@clareecho.ie or news@clareecho.ie

SALES

Email: ger.naughton@clareecho.ie or niall@clareecho.ie

Dulick’s PJ & Anna celebrate retirement THIS week gone saw the retirement of PJ & Anna Fitzgerald from Dulick Motors who between the both have 70 years spent working in Dulick.

PJ began working in Dulick Services in 1978 as a salesman selling Datsun & Peugeot. He then was promoted to sales manager where he remained for a further 10 years.

In 1991 the opportunity arose to purchase the business which at the time was a massive undertaking one in which PJ & Anna wholeheartedly embraced.

The family business grew from strength to strength over the following years receiving many rewards and accolades for its outstanding contribution in growing the Nissan Brand in county Clare.

The business success was and is built entirely around the core goal of providing an excellent customer service which has resulted in them having a large loyal customer base. Their family and staff past & present gave them a wonderful retirement party wishing them a long & healthy happy retirement.

Garda fear for Clare’s rural areas

A

N amalgamation of the Clare and Tipperary Garda Divisions is causing fear in the north western part of the county, Fianna Fáil’s Rita McInerney has claimed.

General Election candidate McInerney told The Clare Echo that she is concerned Kilrush will be left without a Superintendent as a result of the Division merging in the next year. “I am very worried by these changes. They risk diluting policing services, particularly in rural areas of Clare.

“Communities are particularly fearful about the prospect of Kilrush losing its Superintendent, while this has not been confirmed, the lack of detail and information available is creating anxiety across the county. The loss of the Superintendent in Kilrush would be devastating, as it caters for all of north Clare, while Ennistymon doesn’t even have a 24-hour Garda Station.”

4 NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Gerry: ‘I hope Donal will be considered for another term’ PÁRAIC McMAHON

G

paraic@clareecho.ie

ERRY O’Connor has stepped down as joint manager of the Clare senior hurlers, The Clare Echo can exclusively reveal.

Despite speculation that he would return alongside Donal Moloney for a fourth year with the senior hurlers, O’Connor confirmed to The Clare Echo that he has informed the Clare County Board of his departure in recent days.

First appointed as senior joint managers in October 2016, silverware has eluded the pair at this level apart from the 2019 Munster Senior Hurling League.

The duo are undoubtedly the county’s most successful underage management with three back to back All-Ireland and Munster U21 titles secured during their tenure (2012-2014).

Prior to that, they were in charge of the minor hurlers who tasted provincial glory in 2010 and 2011.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Gerry confirmed he would not be involved in 2020.

“I would like to confirm that I will not be considering another term with the Clare senior hurling management.

“I would like to thank everybody who has helped to afford me this opportunity over the past three years, that is the management and backroom team, the players, the county board, the supporters, Club Clare, Pat O Donnell, my employers and my family.

“I wish Donal and the management team all the best in the future and I hope they will be asked to consider another term,” the Killanena native added.

O’Connor departed the U21s following their 2014 All-Ireland win with Moloney remaining in charge for a further two years. Negotiations are ongoing with the County Board and Donal.

During their time together with the county seniors, the joint managers were the first to experience the new-look Munster championship which was introduced last year and saw Clare reach a second successive provincial decider where they once again came up short against the Rebels.

Last year saw the Banner return to Croke Park for the first time in five years as they

took on Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. The teams served up a memorable contest at Jones’ Rd finishing 1-30 apiece, however the replay played at Semple Stadium went the way of the Tribesman with a single point separating the teams at the final whistle.

Form was mixed in 2019 with Waterford dumping Clare out of the Allianz National Hurling League at the quarter-final stage.

Although they got revenge over the same opposition in the Munster championship and also recorded a win against Cork, heavy defeats to Limerick and Tipperary would prevent their progression from the province.

Elsewhere, Clare duo Alan Cunningham and Aonghus O’Brien are to continue as part of John Kiely’s Limerick management team. They were handed a two year extension on Monday night with coach Paul Kinnerk also staying put.

Former captain Donal O’Grady replaces Brian Geary in the setup with Clare’s 2013 strength and conditioning coach Joe O’Connor’s departure confirmed and Mikey Kiely who worked alongside Moloney and O’Connor with the Banner U21s lEXCLUSIVE: Gerry O’Connor will no longer be managing the Clare hurlers Photo by Martin Connolly succeeding him.

6

NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

No job prospects here for Clare's student nurses STUDENT nurses have been told there are no prospects of them securing posts in Clare and Limerick according to one elected representative, writes Páraic McMahon.

Minister for Health, Simon Harris and Colette Cowan, CEO of UL Hospitals Group have received written correspondence from Cllr Cathal Crowe. The Fianna Fáil General Election candidate is seeking clarification following reports that no jobs are available for new graduates in hospitals with further cutbacks to services on the cards. Cllr. Crowe had been contacted by a graduate nurse, who has been on placement, but has now been told that there is no prospect of her securing a post in the Clare-Limerick region. He described the situation in the Mid-West as "extremely worrying".

Last week, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) detailed that a recruitment ban had led to a backdrop of 1,317 vacancies among nurses and midwives posts.

"We all know that there is a shortage

of nurses and midwives in the health service, yet we have a situation where there is a ban on hiring staff. This seems utterly bizarre. There is now a real concern that services will be cut as a result of this staff shortage. It's turning into a vicious circle and the patients are the ones who will suffer. It is also deeply frustrating for nursing graduates, who have spent the last four years studying and may now be forced abroad because the HSE will not hire them," the Mayor of Clare said.

"We need to hear from the Health Minister on this issue. I have written to him and to the CEO of the UL Hospitals Group asking for answers. I find it difficult to understand how a recruitment ban could remain in place when our hospitals are under so much pressure – particularly heading into the winter period.This issue needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. It is unacceptable to be considering further service cuts when those currently available are already struggling to cope with demand", Cllr Crowe concluded.

l SUPPORT: UMHL staff preparing for information evening on early pregnancy loss

Support available for early pregnancy loss

STUART HOLLY

M

editor@clareecho.ie

EDICAL and Midwifery Staff at University Maternity Hospital Limerick will outline the support services available for women who have experienced Early Pregnancy Loss at a special information evening in Limerick this Monday.

The Early Pregnancy Loss/Miscarriage, Ectopic Pregnancy Information Evening — taking place at The Greenhills Hotel, Ennis Road, from 7-8.30pm on Monday September 9 —is aimed at women who have experienced pregnancy loss before 12 weeks.

It is estimated that about one in five pregnancies ends in Early Pregnancy Loss (up to 12 weeks).

Staff from UMHL will discuss the different types of Early Pregnancy Loss, and the physical and emotional effects that women may experience.

Although this is not a counselling event and individual cases will not be discussed, time will be provided for questions, and UMHL staff will have information on the range of support services available.

Rita O'Brien, a Clinical Midwife Specialist in Bereavement Support at UMHL, encouraged anyone affected by Early Pregnancy Loss to come to the free event.

"While the psychological effect of Early Pregnancy Loss is unique to each person, many couples describe the experience as traumatic and "a lonely grief ". The loss in many cases is not talked about," Rita explained.

For further information, contact Rita on 061-483196.

NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

10 years since Muhammad Ali visit to ancestral home in Ennis

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HIS week marks ten years since The Greatest, Muhammad Ali was made the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis, writes Páraic McMahon.

Ennis came to a standstill on September 1st 2009 with people gathering along the streets of the town to get a glimpse of Ali. A big screen was erected at Abbey St where a civic reception was broadcast to over 15,000 people. Thousands also assembled in Turnpike where a monument dedicated to one of the most exceptional sportsmen of the 20th century was unveiled at the house of his ancestors.

His connections to the county town of Clare were traced by historian Dick Eastman. Abe Grady, Ali’s great-grandfather lived on the Turnpike Rd and emigrated to the United States in the 1860s making Kentucky his home. Abe married an African-American woman who had been freed from a life of slavery. Grady’s wife would later give birth to a daughter, Odessa Lee. She then met and married Cassius Clay Sr and on January 17, 1942, Cassius junior was born.

Documenting the roots, Eastman wrote, “An 1855 land survey of Ennis, a town in county Clare, Ireland, contains a reference to John Grady, who was renting a house in

l MEMORABLE: Muhammad Ali on his visit to Ennis 10 years ago and (below) the huge crowds that greeted him at the Turnpike, where his ancestors are said to be from Photos by John Mangan

Turnpike Road in the centre of the town. His rent payment was fifteen shillings a month.

A few years later, his son Abe Grady emigrated to the United States. He settled in Kentucky.”

A three time World Heavyweight Cham-

pion, Ali’s 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman became the world’s mostwatched live television broadcast. Among the international media that covered his visit to Ennis were the Sydney Morning Herald, USA Today, Sky News, BBC, RTÉ, TV3, Cape Times, ABC Australia, London Evening Standard, Belfast Telegraph, CTV, Hello Magazine, Fox News, NBC, Boston Herald, New York Times, The Guardian, Irish Independent, ESPN, UTV, The Telegraph, CNN, The Times and CBS. When questioned by The Clare Echo on what Clare County Council have done in the interval to mark the connection with Muhammad Ali, a spokesperson stated, “County Clare celebrated its connection with one of the greatest sporting icons of all time by hosting annual events up to and including 2014 around Muhammad Ali’s own conviction of being the best that you can be. The Local Authority, supported

by Clare Youth Service, hosted the 'Be The Best That You Can Be' seminars at glór. The events enabled key service providers for

7

young people to speak directly with teenagers about the issues affecting them. The seminar programme reflected the mission of the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville Kentucky which was founded by Muhammad Ali, to promote respect, hope and understanding, and to inspire adults and children everywhere to be as great as they can be.

More than 1500 secondary school students participated in the seminars”.

In June 2016, Cllr Pat Daly, the then Mayor of Ennis and Gerard Dollard, the then Interim Chief Executive of Clare County Council travelled to Louisville, Kentucky for Ali’s funeral.

Former Ennis Town Councillor, Michael Guilfoyle was among those involved in organising the visit a decade ago. He has lived in the Turnpike for the past forty two years and lamented the lack of work done in the interval to honour the links. “I felt at that time it was absolutely fantastic and it was something we’d never ever repeat or forget.

I honestly think that since then not a whole lot has happened”.

Tourists do still come to Turnpike to study the sculpture with Guilfoyle coming across twenty visitors to the monument this summer and an additional twenty to thirty personnel in the summer of 2018. However, he told The Clare Echo that the county has failed to capitalise on it’s precious connection to one of the finest boxers of all time.

“If that was below in Killarney or Tralee and the interest they have in supporting, promotion and making the best use of a figure like Muhammad Ali, I think there would be a festival of boxing or memories every year to Muhammad Ali. I must admit I am disappointed, the Town Council were the main drivers and when they went so did Muhammad Ali’s memory. I honestly think it is too late (to fix it), it would have been nice to mark the ten years.”

However, he added, “The day that Muhammad Ali came to Ennis and the Turnpike will never be forgotten and my own memories of getting to meet him and his wife, it was fantastic to see and fantastic to remember and it will always stay in my head."

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10 NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Beef Plan to establish producer organisation

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

AFTER almost four months of planning, the Beef Plan is in the final stages of establishing its new producer organisation as farmers continue to protest around the country.

Agriland have reported that it will be named ‘Irish Beef Producers’. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed received an incorporation document for company registration on Friday last. The application is currently being assessed by officials in Creed’s department.

If successful, the Beef Plan would be able to avail of financial support from the Department to the value of €3,000 to create the producer organisation. Such organisations

must have a minimum of 20 members in order to get approval to set up. Clare farmers have described the creation of such an organisation as “a game changer as regards how farmers negotiate with factories”.

In January, the Department confirmed contracts had been awarded for the provision of advisory services to producer organisations in the beef industry. Ennis based agricultural consultant, Philip Farrelly was among the approved facilitators, as were, Teagasc, Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Livestock Internet Services Ltd, Farrelly and Scully Ltd, Agribusiness and Food Policy Consultants.

Protests have continued at the entrance to

Kepak in Tiermaclane with farmers taking some time out to watch the All-Ireland football final on Sunday in a tent at the picket line. The Clare Echo understands that Clare Beef Plan have been keeping a low profile as the movement nationally faces the prospect of a multi-million euro bill in damages demands from Dawn Meats seeking compensation for lost production during protests.

ABP, Dawn Meats, Kepak, Slaney Meats and Liffey Meats have all obtained High Court injunctions with legal fees estimated to be in the region of €250,000 per company.

Over the course of three weeks, the amount of participants in Clare Beef Plan groups have risen from 700 to 1,100 on WhatsApp

and 6,000 to 10,000 on Facebook. “We are all just regular farmers but working together makes us strategic farmers. Government and MII friends do not like strategic farmers, they will say things to break us up. We stick together, we win,” Chairperson of the Beef Plan in the county, Joseph Woulfe outlined to farmers in recent days.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Bill Chambers urged farmers to be more cohesive in a bid to secure a better price for their product.

“Farmers need to unite, they are not united, they are three organisations now. If they were all working together they would be better off ”.

Shannon's Ryan Nolan ends spell with Inter

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HANNON’S Ryan Nolan has brought the curtain down on his four year spell with Inter Milan.

He has put pen to paper on a three year deal with Serie C side SS Arezzo in a bid to get more first team experience. Inter Milan have included a clause in the deal that will see them earn 50 percent of any future transfer fee received for Nolan.

Well regarded scout Pierluigi Casiraghi was responsible for bringing the Clare born defender to Milan in 2015, he was playing for Spanish outfit Murcia at the time. He agreed his first senior contract last August, a two-year deal, and was brought on the club’s pre-season tour by former manager Luciano Spalletti last summer, he featured in their first team squad for some Europa League outings last season.

Now aged 20, Ryan was captain of Inter’s Youths team last year. He lived in Shannon until the age of eight and has been capped at underage level for his country. Surprisingly he has yet to receive a call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 side which is managed by Stephen Kenny.

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12 NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Locals concerned about the future of Cahiracon PÁRAIC McMAHON

L

paraic@clareecho.ie

OCALS have expressed their confusion as to how future plans for Cahiracon House can be put in place when the property continues to be in private ownership.

As part of Heritage Week, a presentation and community engagement looking at potential uses for Cahiracon House took place at Kildysart Community Centre where approximately 123 people were in attendance.

Three of the four consultants carrying out a feasibility study on the site which is funded

by The Heritage Council were present at the gathering, they were tourism development consultant Alan Hill, conservation architect Richard Rice and ex Shannon Heritage CEO John Ruddle who is now a tourism consultant.

In existence since the 1760s, Cahiracon House which locally is spelled Cahercon, was built by the McMahons. They were responsible for the construction of 17 tower houses in West Clare and were described by archi-

tectural conservationist, Dick Cronin as “a very influential family”. Having inspected the property recently, he noted, “The conservatory is in very poor condition but is not beyond repair. Some of the plaster work is amazing.

The house is in quite good condition”.

Former councillor, Oliver Garry questioned if there was an urgent need to carry out works at the property. Security and weather proofing the location were the top priorities according to Ruddle who confirmed there were leaks in the house, “It is in need of urgent repairs to the roof ”. Senior planner of Clare County Council, Brian McCarthy was in attendance and interjected at this stage, “We have to be very conscious when talking about somebody else’s house”. Ruddle added, “It is limited what we can do. Any pressure that can be put on is being put on”.

Questions were put to McCarthy on how any work can be conducted if the property is in private ownership. He stressed the local authority’s commitment to rural, social and economic development within the county.

“We are committed to finding a use of the house, as of now we don’t own it, it is our intention to find a use”. The Cork native emphasised that the purpose of the meeting was

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about gaining respect and buy-in from the community.

Alan Hill expressed his delight with the “amazing response” to a survey focused on Cahiracon, the most recent census showed Kildysart had a population of 386, there were 201 respondents to the nine questions. Data obtained showed 75 percent of the survey participants were from Clare, just under 60 percent defined themselves as local with 10 percent of the engagement from outside Ireland. One third of the people surveyed were under the age of forty which Hill observed as “very encouraging”.

Preliminary findings of the survey showed that three in four people that took the survey admitted to having a personal connection to Cahiracon. The house and full community access were rated with “full commitment” when it came to the facilities of importance.

Two thirds “strongly disagreed” that Cahiracon is in fine condition and can be left as is.

Among items listed in the findings that individuals wished to see in the coming decade at the location included jobs, restoration, public access, walking trails, local festivals, men’s shed, courses, accommodation and events.

lHISTORY: Cahiracon House in Kildysart has been a landmark since the 1760s

Personnel at the public meeting put forward numerous ideas of what they would like to see at Cahiracon. A museum with a study on nearby islands, third level education “bringing it to the regions” as a 2019 equivalent to the NIHE, horse-riding, a sports hall, arts and crafts workshops, a spa and walking trails were some of the ideas voiced.

“It is quite humbling and enriching to be here. You have made a huge contribution to this. This community is behind this project, that’s clear to see. Be patient, there are people involved with the best will in the world that want to see big things happen that will benefit for generations,” Hill said as he concluded the meeting.

Shannon Airport and French Consul hold tête-à-tête SECURING flights from Shannon Airport to Paris plus encouraging French business to set up in the Mid-West post Brexit were among the key issues discussed between a Clare contingent and the Honorary Consul of France.

A Clare County Council delegation, led by Mayor of Clare Councillor Cathal Crowe, hosted a meeting with Honorary Consul of France Dr Loïc Guyon at Shannon Airport on Thursday.

Cllr Crowe was joined by Cllr Tony O’Brien, Chair of the Council’s Twinning Committee and Ann Reynolds of Corporate Services. Shannon Group senior management were also at the meeting.

Among the issues discussed was the need to encourage French businesses to locate to the Mid West in a Post-Brexit era, to establish connectivity between Shannon Airport and France and to strengthen twinning relationships between Clare and France.

Cllr Crowe said he wanted to showcase a different part of the county by hosting Dr. Guyon at Shannon Airport as opposed to Áras Contae an Chláir.

“At Shannon we were given an airside walk-through by Andrew Murphy and Nandi O’Sullivan where we were shown recent upgrade works and the new hangar facility which is under construction.

We then proceeded to the airport’s board-

lFRATERNITÉ: Dr Guyon at Shannon Airport with Clare Co Co delegation room for our main meeting of the day.

Shannon Group’s Acting CEO, Mary Considine, delivered an insightful PowerPoint presentation.

"The ‘cairdeas/fraternité’ (friendship) with Dr. Guyon and his Embassy colleagues is only beginning. He and I plan to do all that we can to help secure a flight route between Shannon Airport and Paris Charles De Gaule Airport," he added.

14

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Ronan Scully

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Author spreading the word of positivity

Creating a sacred space

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HERE are times on our journey through life that we simply need to tend to our heart and soul just like we tend to

our body.

We should try if we can, although the unpredictability of life can hamper it, but we should always try to make a beautiful flourishing sacred heart and soul place of our life.

The beginning of any flourishing, beautiful, sustainable, and overflowing spiritual life is having a devotional sacred heart and soul time and place. We create a sacred, heart and soul place where we can come to rest, appreciate and worship.

Create your own sacred heart and soul space where you can soak in the Presence of God and be restored in your devotions. In the process, you will begin to expand and notice that every space becomes sacred. You are bringing and planting heaven on earth. You are creating a sacred heart and soul place that grounds you, a place that grounds you in eternity and in God. There is much talk in our world today about tending to the garden of our bodies. All types of media pour out the idea of taking care of one’s body, so we can be healthy, attractive and live longer. But what of our soul? Surely, it has importance as well. Perhaps even more than we think!

Every day, we have a choice whether or not to tend to our soul garden. Yes, we can neglect it if we want.

But I feel when you neglect your sacred, heart and soul garden, the beauty and radiance of who you really are can become overgrown with weeds of despair, busyness, worry, fear, ego importance or confusion. We can lose sight of who we really are.

For me looking after the life of your spirit and soul is like cultivating a real garden. A beautiful and

balanced garden does not happen without effort. An important step in garden maintenance is to cultivate the source of the garden which is the soil and I always do this for my soul garden through prayer, contemplation and reflection.

With proper care, reflection, contemplation, prayer and love, our spirit and soul garden can thrive and flourish.

However, should we neglect ourselves and our soul garden, we wilt, sink, fade, and wither like untended flowers. This neglect often comes during difficult, stressful, worrying, sad and chaotic times in our lives. But spending time reflecting and praying, be it for two minutes or two hours at anytime

of the day or night, can help restore and rejuvenate us and give us strength to allow us to resume running around dealing with life’s ups and downs.

Visualizing the soul as a garden helps us to really feel an inner space and peace that is sacred, beautiful and filled with life.

Here, we can sow the seeds of all our most cherished loving and wonderful life experiences and weed out the self-defeating doubts and worries we have acquired from the time on our life’s journey so far.

We must try to establish this awareness more firmly in our lives in the present moment of now so that we can experience our souls more consciously.

Such efforts can be distilled down to a central, core practice of one of quieting the habit-mind and concentrating, contemplating and praying fully on the moment at hand. As time moves forward on your sometimes short journey of life you may be surprised to discover a bountiful harvest of blessings, not only in your own body but in your radiant sacred spirit, heart and soul, as well.

In setting aside a sacred, heart and soul place for the sole purpose of prayer and meditation it will become the cornerstone of your good spiritual practice. Have fun with it. Make it a project of joy and love.

You are creating a place of rest, not labor. You want to make

lHEART AND SOUL: Take time out from the busyness of life to reconnect with your inner peace

a place that draws you in, not a place to work.

You are creating a sanctuary, a holy place, a prayer garden, a sacred space. You are establishing a place of refuge in the world, a place where your mind, heart and soul can shift gears when you sit down.

Thought for the week As your thought for the week, always remember like John to share from your soul garden the seeds of love, mercy, forgiveness, truth, kindness, compassion and hospitality to your world around you.

Try to plant your spirit and soul garden the way God might do it as he would firstly, plant three rows of peas: peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of soul.

He would then plant four rows of squash: squash gossip, squash indifference, squash grumbling and squash selfishness.

He would then plant four rows of lettuce: lettuce be faithful and honest, lettuce be kind, lettuce be obedient and lettuce really love one another.

No garden would be right without turnips: turnip for meetings, turnip for service and turnip to help one another.

Water your garden freely with patience and cultivate it with much love.

There is much fruit in your garden. But always remember you reap what you sow.

To conclude your garden you must have thyme: thyme for God and prayer, thyme for study, work and play, thyme for each other and thyme for family and friends.

Remember to smell the flowers along the way because we need to see the beauty that God wants to reveal to us along life’s pathways.

May God’s Garden continue to grow in your soul and may your spirit of goodness always thrive as you make your journey through this sometimes short life!

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NEWS 17

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

Killaloe community rallies together following tragedies

PÁRAIC McMAHON

C

paraic@clareecho.ie

OMMUNITY groups and personnel in the Killaloe and Ballina area are rallying together following the tragic deaths of two young men.

Community groups and organisations are working together in conjunction with guidance and support from Pieta House and the HSE following the recent deaths of the two men in their early twenties.

Darkness Into Light Killaloe Ballina, Killaloe/Ballina Community and Family Resource Centre, Smith O’Briens GAA and Ballina Killaloe RFC have shared contact details for Pieta House’s 24/7 suicide helpline in an attempt to get people to seek help when needed.

“Our community has been completely shattered by the tragic death of another cherished young person to suicide,” a spokesperson for Darkness Into

Light Killaloe Ballina said.

A meeting co-ordinated by the Killaloe/Ballina Community and Family Resource Centre took place recently. Cllr Tony O’Brien from Killaloe outlined to The Clare Echo that the aim was to better assist individuals involved in the various organisations. “They were taking guidance from Pieta House and the HSE, they had measures in place and involved local clubs and organisations in the Killaloe-Ballina area to encourage anyone that needed to speak to somebody or seek help and assistance, even people involved in those clubs who might be able to help people who did not know what to do to contact them. They gave out information on how to deal with particular situations.

There was a very good coming together of the community and the agencies involved in mental health”.

“It was tragic and both those young men left their families and many friends bereaved. It’s always sad when a young

person loses their life,” the Fianna Fáil representative commented.

Cllr O’Brien added, “It has impacted on the entire community. All we can do, at times we feel so helpless, all we can do is help each other, reach out to each other and the families and be there for them and the many good friends of those deceased men they left behind and their families. We’ve to help each other out, that’s what community is all about. These are not the circumstances you would like to see anything coming through but I think there is always a resilience in communities."

Raising awareness of suicide has been carried out in local schools over the past few months. Transition year students of St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe carried out a cycle against suicide and also partook in the annual Darkness Into Light.

Pieta House’s 24/7 Suicide Helpine can be contacted on 1800-247-247.

l DIFFICULT WEEK: Killaloe and Ballina

Whelan: 'We'll be putting up a gate at Fanny O'Deas' West Clare native warns lack of new industry is unsustainable I N 34 years, the number of people living in West Clare being forced to move inland for work has doubled, the owner of the West Clare railway Jackie Whelan has claimed.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, the Director of Tullagower Quarries highlighted the rise in personnel using the N68 from Kilrush and Kilkee leaving West Clare every morning to go to work.

"I go back there seven mornings a week, I drive the train on a Sunday from 1 to 4, I go back on a Sunday around 10am but I wouldn't meet the volume of traffic. Five mornings a week I'm meeting 280 cars between Ennis and Kilrush coming towards Ennis".

Whelan who worked as a main services contractor during the building of Moneypoint declared

future problems were evident at Ireland's largest electricity generation station from the start.

"Moneypoint will close down the way it is running and eventually come up with a new system of electricity, the two 400KV lines out of Kilrush were never allowed to be built in the country, the distribution system is there so it will have to be turned over to something else". He continued, "It was a great scheme in its time but the money that was being paid in there was bingo figures in comparison to any other part of the county, the cost was prohibitive as far as I'd be concerned for the people that worked there, the cost was mad.

"In all fairness, it couldn't last the way it was running because there was too much weekly costs by comparison to other systems, you have to be competitive and sustainable otherwise you can't

stay there, it's all about sustainability".

A native of Shragh, Jackie warned of the future implications if new industry is not established in West Clare. "The only industry I think will last there now is small industries where you might have seven or eight people employed, ten people is possibly sustainable.

"You'll never get an industrialist to go back to West Clare and drive 70 miles as far as Shannon every morning, it's not going to last.

"Families are not going to stay back there, we'll be lucky if the farmers stay there as it is.

"We'll be putting up a gate at Fanny O'Deas in a few years time and be sending people back to see the handful of acres that are lFRUSTRATED: Jack Whelan, of the West Clare Railway in Moyasta, says people have to leave West Clare for work

Photo by Martin Connolly left, that's the way things are".

100 knee replacements in Vietnam

Z

IMMER Biomet, a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, has played a key role in helping 100 people from Vietnam to walk again. As part of a broader company effort, the company’s Shannon and Galway manufacturing operations recently donated knee implants to charity, Operation Walk Ireland, while three employees from Ireland also travelled to Vietnam to serve as part of a volunteer team from Ireland’s orthopaedic community.

Over the course of one week, the 168-person team, which included surgeons, anaesthetists, physical therapists, nurses, sterilisation staff and implant specialists, operated on 100 patients in Hanoi, transforming the lives of people, who had been immobile for years. The Zimmer Biomet volunteers included Ian Kelly, who heads up the company’s commercial operations in Ireland. He describes the experience in Hanoi as life-changing.

“We experienced the whole patient journey – we saw all of the patients during pre-op, worked on their procedure in theatre and then saw them post-op and in recovery the next day. It was incredibly moving to see a patient, who has not walked for eight years, walking two days later.”

Acknowledging the support of Zimmer Biomet, David Cogley, Co-director of Operation Walk Ireland said: “Joint

l MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Some of the Zimmer Biomet team at Shannon, who manufactured the implants used to transform the lives of 100 patients in Vietnam as part of Operation Walk Ireland.

O’Driscoll appointed to new role of COO within Shannon Group PÁRAIC McMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

R

AY O’Driscoll has been appointed to the new position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Shannon Group.

Cork native O’Driscoll joined Shannon Group when it established in 2014 becoming Managing Director of Shannon Commercial Properties. Prior to that, he spent ten years as a Finance Director with Barry Group.

With Shannon Commercial Properties, he was responsible for managing their property portfolio, one of the largest in

the country which includes six business and technology parks amongst them the Shannon Free Zone and covers over 2 million sq ft of building space and 1,500 acres of development land in Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry.

He will have to report to the CEO of Shannon Group, a post that has not been filled since Matthew Thomas’ departure in June with Mary Considine working in an acting capacity during the intervening period.

Commenting on O’Driscoll’s appointment, Considine said.

“The wealth of experience he brings to the role will be a major asset in enabling us deliver on our key priorities. This new position will focus on driving the performance of each of the Group’s companies, while max-

imising the potential to drive synergies across the Group.

Ray’s achievements within the Group to date, include bringing over 650,000 sq ft of new or upgraded office, manufacturing and warehouse facilities to the market enabling the expansion of many of the industries located here and attracting new industries to the region.

“Under his stewardship the Group has seen occupancy rates across its property portfolio increase from 40% to over 90%. I am confident that he will bring this same focus and determination to his new role as COO working closely with the Executive team to deliver on our ambition for the Group,” she concluded.

replacement surgery is in its infancy in Vietnam due primarily to the difficulty of poorer people being able to access high tech medicine, such as joint replacement, cataract or cardiac surgery. In a country of 96 million, the number of people who receive joint replacements is in the low thousands each year.

“Compare this to Ireland, where around 10,000 hip and knee replacements are undertaken annually.

“As a result, an important component of our work is to cooperate with the Vietnamese surgeons and medical team, who are extremely interested in learning about modern minimally invasive and rapid recovery techniques in hip and knee replacements.

“We are proud of the role Ireland plays – ours was one of the first international chapters to be set up and the Ireland business and medical orthopaedic community continues to provide huge support. I want to extend a big thank you to Zimmer Biomet for its generous donation and for the dedication and expertise of its volunteers.”

Claude Costelloe, General Manager of Zimmer Biomet’s Ireland manufacturing facilities commented: “Our team is proud to know that knee implants, manufactured in Shannon and Galway, have helped to restore mobility for patients in Vietnam”. image courtesy of Shannon Group

NEWS 19

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Clare visit a 'privilege' Pence talks Brexit on first 'Emerald Isle' trip in six years PÁRAIC McMAHON

U

paraic@clareecho.ie

S Vice President, Mike Pence said he was ‘privileged and honoured’ to be back in Ireland for the first time in six years.

On Monday afternoon at 16:19, Air Force Two landed at Shannon Airport marking the beginning of Pence’s first official trip to Ireland since becoming the Vice President two years ago. He was greeted on the apron by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Cathal Crowe, Irish American Ambassador Dan Mulhall, Shannon Group Chairperson Rose Hynes and Emma Madigan, Chief of Protocol with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking in the Presidential Suite at Shannon Aiport, Pence declared, “I want to say what a privilege and an honour it is to be back on the Emerald Isle”. Prior to his arrival, he spoke with President Donald Trump who extended his greetings.

During his two day visit to Clare, US Vice President declared Irish-American relations

l WARM GREETING: Vice President of the United States of America Mr Mike Pence and his wife, Second Lady Karen Pence are greeted by Rose Hynes, Chairman Shannon Group with Tanaiste Simon Coveney TD, Ambassador Dan Mulhall and Mayor of Clare Cllr Cathal Crowe TD on his arrival at Shannon Airport Photo by Arthur Ellis

"as strong as ever" and outlined his desire for a Brexit deal that will “encourage stability” on the island while respecting the Good Friday Agreement.

Addressing members of the media before a bi-lateral meeting with Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Pence spoke of the need for any Brexit deal to encompass peace on the island of Ireland reinforcing the Good Friday Agreement. He expressed his delight with returning to the place his grandfather described as “the old country”.

“Let me also assure you as a former Minister that we will continue to work closely with our partners in Ireland and the United Kingdom to support a Brexit plan that encourages stability and which keeps the strong foundation forged by the Good Friday Agreement. We understand it is a complex issue, I’ll be in the UK meeting Boris Johnson in just a few days and I get the opportunity to better understand Ireland’s perspective and unique needs particularly with regard to your border."

For the duration of his two day visit, Mike Pence and his wife Karen stayed at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland in Doonbeg.

VP's visit 'no cause for celebration' STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

LAHINCH based campaigner Ruairí McKiernan says the arrival of U.S Vice President Mike Pence to County Clare today is more a cause for concern than celebration.

“I understand that the man has some ancestral links here and that Ireland has an important relationship with the United States, but we need to step back and see the bigger picture. Mike Pence likes to talk about his migrant roots, but look at the incredible suffering his regime is inflicting on modern-day migrants. These are people who are looking for better lives for their families, just as his ancestors did. Surely the hypocrisy is plain to see? It was only a matter of weeks ago that he was filmed coldly inspecting migrant men in cramped cages. The lack of humanity was striking. It was like a scene from 1930s Germany. Pence likes to say he’s a Christian but how is that Christian? Christianity is about solidarity with the poor and the vulnerable. Wasn’t Christ himself a refugee?”

Last week Doonbeg Fianna Fáil election candidate Rita McInerney called for Mike Pence to visit Loop Head to help boost tourism, while Fianna Fáil Mayor of Clare Councillor Cathal Crowe joined Minister Simon Coveney in welcoming him at Shannon Airport this afternoon.

McKiernan, who is a founding member of

the Uplift organisation and a former member of the Council of State, says we need to think twice before rolling out the red carpet for the U.S Vice President.

“Trump is very much in campaign mode at present and I’ve no doubt Pence’s Irish visit will be used for propaganda purposes, just as the recent visit to Doonbeg was. The Irish American vote is huge and these guys know the value of positive coverage. That’s why it’s important not to be complicit in supporting this regime in any shape or form.

Pence’s views on LGBT rights, and his government’s record on the environment, women’s rights, and workers' rights are dreadful.

"I can see why people want radical change in politics, but supporting these guys in the midst of an ecological crisis is like helping dig our own grave. Of course, there’s a challenging political reality to navigate and I understand that. However, there needs to be a moral and ethical line somewhere. For me, it’s about what we teach kids to do - to stand up to bullies and promote the values of love, kindness and decency in the world.

When you consider how fascism developed in Europe in the last century, it offers a chilling reminder for why now is not a time to be silent.”

Bell Harbour based poet Sarah Clancy agrees.

“One of Mike Pence’s election campaigns was based around opposing the idea of recognising that LGBTQ+ people like me needed specific protections under the law. This is not the same as a crank on the internet being homophobic. Mike Pence brings the

l TAKING A STAND: Sarah Ferrigan and Sarah Clancy protesting in Shannon

Photo courtesy @sarahmaintains stature and power of his office as Vice Presi- very much fear that in years to come people dent of the United States to a type of unnec- will wish they stood up against this regime. essary toxic hate. In doing so he legitimises In Ireland, we live in one of the most free attacks, abuse and the politics of loathing.” countries in the world. I can protest Mike “He brings his thoughts and prayers and Pence’s visit, his inhumanity, racism and support for the NRA to any mass shoot- homophobia without fear of persecution or ing that happens in the US. Pence never retribution. All I face is ridicule from people suggests that laws should be changed or who maybe don’t understand the crossroads even the most ridiculous war level weapons we are at in the world at the moment. If we banned.” don’t speak out here when there is no risk to “Mike Pence should not be honoured. I ourselves then who will?”

20 COLUMNIST

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

Aoibhín Garrihy

LOVE

CLARE

Fun at Electric P icnic THE NOTEBOOK

S

EPTEMBER is like January. There’s a sense of “clean slate” in the air. It’s a chance to reset, to refocus and to begin again after the summer indulgences and lack of routine! It’s a nice time of year to set intentions, to journal and write down those goals! So carpe diem!

I’ll be spending the weekend at BEO at the Limerick Strand Hotel and Armada Hotel and hoping to get our speakers and attendees in for a little pre show dip off the West Clare Coast on Sunday morning.

Feel free to join!

I’m also very excited to announce a new venture for BEO in the form of “BEO Baby” on the 3rd Novem-

ber in Galway. It’s a day supportive, informative and empowering day for new moms and moms to be as they begin this new chapter of life! Psychologist David Coleman, Sleep Therapist Lucy Wolfe, Mummy Cooks, Midwives Liz Canny and Helen Bryt of Belly Baby are

BRIDE TO BE: Ailbhe counting down to the big day.

just some of the experts taking to the stage on the day to share their knowledge and experience and I’m

COVET IN

CLARE

THE GIFT OF CONFIDENCE Actors and Reactors School of Speech and Drama opens it’s doors again this September after a summer interlude.

Class places are limited but available to students ages 4-18 specializing in Speech and Elocution, Confidence Building and Creative Drama.

Email info@actorsandreactors.com for details.

SHOWSTOPPER The brand new Caroline Kilkenny collection has launched at The County Boutique, Ennis and it’s simply breathtaking.

Invest in this stunning signature gown and be sure to turn heads wherever this Autumn/Winter season takes you!

so excited to soak it all up myself!

For more see beowellness.ie.

Electric Picnic was a special one this year as the Garrihy clan (mom on tow) ventured to Stradbally to see Doireann interview the legend that is Blindboy for a live “The Laughs of your Life” podcast on the “Ah Here” stage to a packed house! It was a different experience with bump this year but there’s always fun to be had at that festival! Here’s to many more!

The countdown is officially on for my sister Ailbhe and her lovely fiancé Ruaidhri’s big day and we are so excited in the Garrihy household!

Doireann and I are bridesmaids and after the most magical weekend at the hen, it’s all systems go with just under a month until D Day! I cannot wait to see her make the most beautiful bride. In the meantime, I’ll just leave this here...our mother Clare literally offering herself up for the cause, as she embraced all activities at the hen party!!

THE LAUGHS OF YOUR LIFE: (top) Doireann interviews Blindboy of the Rubberbandits at the Electric Picnic’s ‘Ah Here’ Stage. (below) The Garrihy sisters enjoy the vibes at Electric Picnic.

SHARE THE GUILT The new dark chocolate, bark sharing bags from Green and Blacks (available in three delicious flavours) are made with ethically sourced cocoa, no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours and provide the perfect not so guilty pleasure option for you and your plus one!

NO KEEPCUP, NO COFFEE Join the movement and cut back on single use plastic.

This recyclable glass beauty from Edamame comes with a cork sleeve designed to keep your hands cool and the glass safe from breakages and the cup is sure to secure the great taste of your coffee.

Feel like you’re playing a part for €17.95 A TOUCH OF SOPHISTICATION Add a little class to your table or counter top with this Paul Costello Oval Tray available at Dunnes Stores.

Boasting a mirrored base, this is an ideal piece for placing candles on, allowing them to emit soft glows that will create a beautiful ambiance in any room. €35

HAPPENINGS

LISDOONVARNA MATCHMAKING FESTIVAL

The matchmaking festival is one of Ireland’s oldest festivals and takes place over a five week period. It attracts over 80,000 people from all over the world who come for the music, the dancing and to meet third generation matchmaker Willie Daly.

The Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival kicked off on the 30th August and runs for five weeks until the 29th September and is supported by Clare County Council.

LOOP HEAD WELLNESS WEEKEND

Enjoy a weekend of absolute relaxation on the Loop Head peninsula with Yoga, Qigong, seaweed baths and massage. Coupled with a talk on nutrition and a shore walk foraging for healthy goodies by the sea. Perfect getaway for September.

COLUMNIST 21

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

Top 5 P icture Perfect Locations for your Wedding P hotography

1

It’s all about weddings in our house at the moment so here are the ultimate picture perfect locations Co Clare provides as the perfect backdrop to your shot!

CORCOMROE ABBEY:

Set in the heart of the Burren...this early 13th Century monastery in its ruined raw state, needs no embellishment and makes for a stunning majestic setting for your wedding ceremony or that epic photo. You will also capture stunning images on the limestone flags of the surrounding rugged landscape...it’s movie set worthy!

3

BALLYBEG WOODS, ENNIS:

Nestled away amongst the green trees and earthy woodland, this wedding shot sings romance and the contrast in colours makes it all the more stunning. That little moment immersed in nature, just the two of you, will surely stand out as a wedding day highlight and the picture will forever remind you of that precious time on your precious day.

5

2

DOONAGORE CASTLE:

Majestic castle, tick, stunning views, tick, romantic country bohereen, tick! Overlooking the Aran Islands and the quaint village of Doolin, Doonagore Castle is nestled on a height and provides a picturesque focal point for a bride and groom taking a casual stroll towards wedded bliss!

4

CLIFFS OF MOHER:

Are you even married in Clare without a token shot at the Cliffs of Moher?! There’s a reason it’s a must on the photographers shot list and now with the advances in technology and a lens’ ability, drone shots etc the results are breathtaking. With views and a backdrop this good it’s hard to say no. Avoid the hustle and bustle of the visitor centre and access the Cliffs from Nagle’s car park in Liscannor or get right to the highest point at Guerin’s Path.

It’s worth the trek up though, believe me!

LAKES OF KILLALOE:

Is there anything more tranquil than the stillness of a lake? Arrive by boat and you’ve got “Notebook” romance status right there! Wait until evening for that beautiful light, framed by nature and you’ve got the perfect Kodak moment.

Entertainment

Danceperados of Ireland hit glór ‘Honour’ for Donnellan to bring world’s best dancers to Ennis STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

A

N INTERNATIONAL sellout production now entering its sixth year will make its Irish premiere in Ennis next month, with local dancing legend Michael Donnellan at the helm.

Danceperados Of Ireland promises to showcase 20 of the best Irish dancers in the world - including the current male and female world champions - alongside a high-octane group musicians and stunning vocalists, choreographed

by Donnellan and co-producer and fellow Clare man Eimhin Liddy, who is the musical director.

Live musicians and singers, including the well-known Doolin-based Geraldine McGowan, will accompany the strident clattering of the most well-trained feet in the world, bouncing in unison on the glor stage. A powerful image of a beautiful art-form, and one that captures the imagination.

The sort of production usually reserved for audiences in city auditoriums, one would ponder.

Ahead of the show, two-time world champion Donnellan tells The Clare Echo why the upcoming shows in glór, for which tickets are already in high demand, are the most highly anticipated of a tour which will take in France, Germany, and Holland to name a few.

“Danceperados of Ireland is my newest venture,” begins Michael, who has choreographed other successful international shows such as Magic Of The Dance and Rhythms Of Ireland. “It comprises of 20 dancers on stage, a six-piece live band, and singers. It’s a full live production; nothing canned, nothing tracked. We’re very lucky to have the absolute best dancers in the world, we have the current world champions male and female. We have 200 dates booked between October 2019 and February 2020 but I always wanted to bring something creative, choreographed, something I’m passionate about to my hometown in glor. We have phenomenal talent, we just can’t wait to showcase it really. We have two nights, and it’s selling

very fast.”

Two years ago, Ennis native Donnellan brought down the curtain on his own dancing career in style at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann Dome in Ennis, where he danced his farewell dance with the Kilfenora Céili Band. Dancing continues to shape the life of the man who has performed leading roles in both Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance at London’s Westend. Having first clicked his heels aged just four - some four decades later he’s handing back his reel shoes to guide the next generation of elite Irish dancers, as a choreographer.

“It was my farewell dance, my last professional performance with them and you just know it’s time. It’s quite comparable to a player becoming a manager to a degree,

you’re stepping off the pitch but you’re still in the team. That’s what I do now, I recruit the best Irish dancers, create the best choreography I can for them, work with the best musical directors in the world and then, light the show, costume the show, put the best production together.”

Although Danceperados of Ireland isn’t his first rodeo - he first tasted life as a dance choreographer aged just 19 - it’s certainly one that’s close to Michael’s heart. This October Michael celebrates his 44th birthday, just days before his show takes to the stage in Ennis.

“I’ve always been creating, always playing with rhythms etc with my feet from a young age, even as a young lad I used to get in trouble for tapping under the table at school,” he laughs, “it’s just something I was always at.

“Now this is the third international professional dance show that I’ve choreographed.” Michael, also a secondary school teacher at St Patrick’s Comprehensive in Shannon, continues, “Normally these big

dance productions go to the bigger cities and now we’re bringing the production to the people [of Clare], which is something I really wanted to do. It’s an honour for me to put on this production, which I’ve choreographed and created, to my home town.

The co-producer is also a Clare man; Doolin-based Peter Pandula is heavily involved, so the three of us together are very excited that it’s the only touring professional production from County Clare, that was born here.”

Michael tells of the fateful meeting seven years ago when the trio sat down together with the aim of creating “one of the best dance shows in the world”, and following six consecutive sold-out European tours, they will finally bring their show to its rightful stage. “It’s an absolute honour to bring this home, for the people of Ennis to see this. I hope they come out in their droves, we are going to put on a spectacular production for them, it really is something special. We’re so excited about, it’s just blasting music, 110mph dancing in your face, and it’s just honest, it’s real, it’s true and it’s live.”

Michael says that while he still misses the stage, being in the front row when the curtains open in glór gives him a great feeling of exhilaration.

“Still, to be honest with you when the music starts at 8pm and you’re sitting in the auditorium, the legs still go. It never leaves you, there’s no better place in the world than being on the stage performing but the second best place is being in an audience watching your work being performed.”

Ultimately, Michael says, he just wants to transport the people of Ennis from the stress of daily life into the wonderful, magical universe of dance.

“I want people to leave their worries and their phones at the door, go in and take a deep breathe. Just be enthralled by the best dancing that you can possibly see on a stage to some beautiful musical scores. There’s enough dullness in the world - enough of that - just be entertained and enjoy yourself for two and a half hours and be absolutely enthralled by the talent that is on that stage.”

Danceperados of Ireland takes place at glór on October 18-19. Tickets €25/€35 available at www.glor.ie or at glor ticket office, 065 684 3103.

For more information on dates and shows, go to www.danceperados.com.

History Week at Clare County Library

‘1919 The War of Independence’ is the theme of Clare County Library’s ‘Decade of Centenaries History Week’ taking place from 14th September to 20th September.

Events include a History Ireland Hedge School, performances of ‘Clare: Songs of Independence’ by Mike Hanrahan, ‘Greyhound on a Train’ with Carnation Theatre, talks by children’s historical fiction author Brian Gallagher and history lectures by Dr Joe Power, Dr Paul O’Brien and Tom Toomey.

Library branches will also show War of Independence-themed films and documentaries and have book displays of War of Independence titles. All events are free and details of individual events can be found on www.clarelibrary.ie.

The week starts with a History Ireland Hedge School with historians Tomás Mac Con Mara, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, Cécile Gordon and Eve Morrison and chaired

by History Ireland editor Tommy Graham.

They will discuss ‘The War of Independence in Clare: reassessing David Fitzpatrick’s Politics and Irish Life 1913-1921: provincial experience of war and revolution.’ This work was a ground-breaking local study of Clare which became a template for other local studies of the War of Independence. This will be held in the Temple Gate Hotel at 2.00pm on Saturday, 14 September. The event is free but capacity will be limited.

Carnation Theatre will present two performances of ‘Greyhound on Train’. This War of Independence performance tells the stories of four women during the struggle to achieve Irish independence - Elizabeth Bloxham, teacher, pamphleteer, rabble rouser, radicaliser, Peg Flanagan – waitress, gun runner, spy and witness to Bloody Sunday, Josephine Stallard – doctor, dispatcher, whirlwind romancer and Bridget Fitzpatrick – a central figure in the ambushes at Knocklong and Soloheadbeg. Interspersed with songs of the period, this is an enjoyable historical account.

The shows will be held on Tuesday 17 September in DeValera Library at 1.00pm and Shannon Library at 6.00pm.

Dr. Joe Power will give a lecture on the ‘Guerrilla War in Clare’ in DeValera Library in Ennis on Tuesday 17 September at 6.30pm. Tom Toomey will give a lecture on ‘The Incarceration of Brigadier General Lucas’ in Scariff Library on Tuesday, 17 September at 7pm. Dr Paul O’Brien will give a lecture on Commandant Joseph Barrett (1888-1971) in Kilrush Library on Wednesday 18 September at 6.30pm.

This will look at the recently-discovered archive found in Moore St in Kilrush which garnered a lot of national publicity this year.

Further information from www. clarelibrary.ie, your local library or 065 6899082.

ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR ENNIS FOOD AND DRINKS FLEADH

T

HERE’S a new festival in town - Clare Food & Drink Fleadh –to takes place from September 26 to 29, bringing with it plenty of fun and gastronomic good times.

Supported by Failte Ireland as part of its ‘Taste the Island’ initiative, Clare Food & Drink Fleadh will showcase the best of the Banner’s bounty – the amazing food sourced, grown and produced sustainably across the county, as well as the award-winning craft beers and whiskeys brewed and distilled in Clare.

Highlights include: • ‘Small Plates’ promotion across the weekend, with a dozen Ennis restaurants, cafés and bistros participating • Festival gin called GINIS (pronounced GIN –ISH!) A very limited quantity (collector’s item) of this excellent gin can be ordered and purchased from Fawl’s Off-Licence from Monday, September 23.

• ‘Taste of Clare Feast’, featuring a 6-course taster menu produced by the culinary team at the Old Ground Hotel, to include dessert course by guest chef Frank Landy of Sweet n Green, finishing with a Clare cheeseboard, at the Old Ground hotel (Sept 26) • ‘Community Harvest Lunch’ @ glór, featuring fruit, vegetables and edible flowers grown by participants of Ennis Chamber CE Scheme at poly-tunnels in Gordon Drive, prepared by guest chef Paudie Guerin (Sept 27) • Launch of ‘Vegan Club’ at Sweet n Green (Sept 27) • Afterwork ‘Oysters & Guinness ‘@ Dan O’Connell’s (Sept 27) • ‘Barrack Street Fiesta’ with Ennis Brass Band, the perfect after-work event, on the Friday night (Sept 27) • ‘Sing for your Supper’, fun competition at Nora Culligan’s – winner receives 3-course dinner for two with Prosecco at The Rowan Tree (Sept 27) • Final of the Home Brew Competition at McHugh’s

• Artisan Food Market at Covered Market building (Sept 28) • Eat My Shop – Food trail through selected retail outlets in Ennis (Sept 28) • Junior Chef and Junior Baker competition for future food professionals or dedicated foodies aged 8 to 14. Great prizes sponsored by Kontour Kitchens @ Covered Market (Sept 28) • ‘GINIS Gin Cocktail Competition’ takes place in over a dozen bars in Ennis (Sept 28, 7.30 – 9.30pm) • Clare Food & Drink Fleadh – on Tour. Start with a hearty traditional Irish breakfast at 9:30am, accompanied with live trad session at No.Forty One. Hop on board the Tour Bus to Lahinch, to forage with expert Oonagh O’Dwyer. Next stop Lisdoonvarna for a masterclass at the Burren Smokehouse. Last stop, Aillwee Cave Farm Shop to sample Burren Gold cheese range. ETA of Tour Bus to Ennis is 16.00 (Sept 29) • ‘Bubbles Brunch & All that Jazz‘, at the Town Hall 12noon – 2pm (Sept 29) • Clare Fare cooked with French Flair – Traditional Provençal fish stew, a glass or wine and live music by the Wild Antics (Sept 29) • Ennis Whiskey Experience – the four pillars of Irish whiskey explored in four pubs, guided by whiskey experts Eric Flynn and Paul Quin …. you’ll be in safe hands! (Sept 29) Great experiences across the weekend include ‘Sessions with Sides’ –early evening trad sessions at Knox’s, Brogan’s and Dan O’Connell’s, served with tasty, very affordable side dishes … think a large cup of slow cooked lamb stew, or black pudding with smoked applewood and chorizo crumbed balls mmmm….delicious!

Tasty Samples all weekend at Zest Café Wine tasting at the Wine Buff on Friday and Saturday from noon For enquiries email: info@clarefooddrinkfleadh.ie

23

24 BE WINTER READY

Stove installation can reduce your heating bill this winter

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OULD you like to reduce your heating bills this Winter?

Putting a stove into your house immediately reduces the draught through the house. An open fire is always pulling warm air up the chimney, even when the fire is off.

When the fire is on, it’s only 20% efficient. So for every €10 you are putting in, your only getting €2 out.

Compare this to a stove, where you’re averaging 80% efficiency, resulting in €8

l BEFORE AND AFTER: The stunning results of a fireplace and stove fit-out by Fairgreen Stoves (right) and (below) before the stove was fitted by the experts

into your cosy sitting room.

If you are thinking of making the move, please don’t feel like you are losing your fire. We have excellent stoves with a big glass that will show off your fire, but with higher efficiency, and lower costs.

The pictures show a timber fireplace with an arched plate. This can be easily changed to a flat plate to fit the stove.

Call into our showroom or call us to discuss your options. Bring a picture if you can.

BE WINTER READY

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Are you winter ready? Eight tips to make sure your home is prepared

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with the repairs or maintenance. Also ask them to look at the caulking around the chimney and air vents.

Turn off any faucets outside. Water left undrained can freeze, which can cause the pipes to burst. Disconnect your garden house and drain the remaining water.

Trim your bushes and trees. Make sure any overgrown bushes or trees are trimmed back away from your house and electrical wires. This will help decrease your risk of property damage and power problems.

Pad exposed pipes in unheated areas.

This is an easy and inexpensive method to help prevent water damage resulting from a frozen pipe. Even the smallest of pipes can cause a lot of damage. Pipes in the basement, attic or crawl space are some examples of pipes you may want to cover.

HE winter season is drawing near which means sub-zero arctic-like temperatures, icy conditions, and a whole lot of snow. That’s why it’s time to start thinking about how to protect your home from any potential damage the frigid temperatures and snow may bring. Taking charge now, before it is too late, may help you avoid a home insurance claim later.

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WINTER HOME PREPARATION GUIDE By the time winter arrives, your home should be ready for whatever tricks Old Man Winter may have up his sleeve.

There’s nothing worse than having to deal with a leaky window, broken furnace or a burst pipe in the middle of winter. These eight tips and tricks will help prevent any unfortunate winter mishaps or water damage.

For heat’s sake have your furnace 1maintenance professionally serviced. A routine check each autumn will help

ensure your furnace is running properly and efficiently. Also, if you have an older thermostat, consider replacing it with a programmable one to save money on heating costs.

Inspect all windows and doors for leaks.

In order to prevent heat loss, make sure your windows and doors are properly sealed. Check the weather-stripping around windows and door frames, and replace where necessary. Also check for drafts and

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caulk both inside and out where necessary, to keep the heat in and the cold out.

Sweep the chimney. Before you use your fireplace, make sure the chimney and vents are clean and in good condition by having your chimney looked at by a professional. This will help prevent chimney fires and carbon monoxide from building up and finding its way into your home.

Clean out your gutters. It’s important your eaves are free of any debris such

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as leaves, dirt and sticks. Clogged gutters prevent the draining of rain and melting snow which could result in household leaks.

Also, make sure your downspouts extend away from your house by at least five feet to ensure that water runs away from your house and not towards it.

Inspect the roof. While cleaning your eaves, inspect your roof for any missing, loose or damaged shingles. If your roof needs attention call a roofer to help you

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Taking the time to winter-proof your home is a small price to pay especially if it helps prevent damages. Now is also a good time to stock up on all the winter essentials too including salt, sand, and snow shovels.

It won’t go to waste and you’ll need them before you know it.

Finally, don’t forget to winterize your car as well: winter tires and an emergency roadside safety kit will go a long way in ensuring you’re ready for the season ahead.

Community 26 COMMUNITY

SHANNON SHANNON MUSICAL SOCIETY AUDITIONS Following a very successful launch night in Wolfe Tones Na Sionna GAA club ion Sunday, September 1, Shannon Musical Society is looking ahead and saying What’s Up Duloc to our upcoming production of SHREK: The Musical, which will take place in February 2020.

If you are interested in being involved, we hope you will Make A Move and sing a Travel Song on your way to our auditions which will take place on Sunday, September 8 in St Patrick’s Comprehensive School, Shannon.

With call-backs being held from 5pm on the day, we will start the auditions with minors from 1pm to 1.45pm followed by male parts from 1.45pm to 3pm and female parts from 3pm to 4.30pm.

If you’re wondering Who I’d Be and feel like I’ve Got You Beat and would like to audition please email shannonmusicalcommittee@gmail.com and we will get back to you with audition material. We hope you’ll Let Your Freak Flag Fly with us this year! Make sure to follow Shannon Musical Society on Facebook and @Shannonmusical on Instagram to keep up to date with all our news and events and remember, This Is How A Dream Comes True!

WEST CLARE MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL PUBLIC MEETING West Clare Sinn Féin representative, Violet-Anne Wynne will host a public meeting for Clare farmers to discuss their concerns with the Mercosur EU Trade Deal. The Public Meeting in Kilrush Community Hall at 8pm on 11th September has former Ireland South MEP Liadh Ní Riada as the main speaker and Donie Shine, Chairperson of the Irish Family-Farm Rights Group.

FREE CLASSES IN MILTOWN MALBAY Free Adult Education classes in Painting and Drawing, Textile Art, Creative Writing and Local History commencing in September at the FET Centre, Miltown Malbay Campus, Ballard Rd., Miltown Malbay. To book a place or for more information contact Breda on 087 4137189

ENNIS MODS & MINIS COFFEE & COOKIES DAY Mods & Minis on O’Connell Street in Ennis are inviting the public to join them for a ‘coffee and cookies day’ on Thursday, September 12 in-store, to celebrate the launch of their Name It Autumn Winter collections. Enjoy Coffee and Cookies while you hear from and meet meet one of the Name It designers. All donations to the Clare Crusaders.

Time - 11am & 3 PM. Location – Mods & Minis, O’Connell Street.

COUNTYWIDE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT ACTION FUND ANNOUNCED The Community Environment Action Fund 2019, previously known as the Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund, is now seeking applications. Eligible projects should support and complement national environmental policies and priority will be given to Climate Change and Biodiversity projects this year.

With a total fund of €25,300 available for County Clare, Clare County Council is inviting small to medium size community project proposals from schools, tidy town groups, community development associations, youth groups or any group with an interest in completing an environment themed project or activity.

Further information including a list of previously funded projects can be viewed online at https://www.dccae.gov.ie.

Application forms can be obtained by emailing greenerclare@clarecoco.ie or by contacting Cepta McDonagh, Environment Section, Clare County Council at 065 68 46 331. Applications must be made directly to Clare County Council, Environment Section no later than 5.00 p.m. on 27 September 2019 by email to greenerclare@clarecoco.ie or by post to: Environment Section, Clare County Council, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare, V95 DXP2.

SOUTHEAST CLARE MONEEN GRAVEYARD MASS Mass, celebrated by Fr. Tom Carroll, will take place at 7pm in Moneen Graveyard this Thursday evening (5th September). The Meelick Graveyards Committee have worked throughout the spring and summer months to keep the burial ground looking its very best.

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

CONTACT NEWSDESK

065 671 9021 news@clareecho.ie

EAST CLARE FOOD CRITIC TOM DOORLEY LAUNCHES A TASTE OF LOUGH DERG 2019 TV presenter and journalist Tom Doorley (right) visited Killaloe/Ballina this week to officially launch A Taste of Lough Derg.

The popular food series kicked off on 31st August and continues through the month of September in towns and villages around Lough Derg. Now in its sixth year, A Taste of Lough Derg will be rolled out by businesses and attractions and will be supported by The Lough Derg Marketing Group, which aims to share excellent local produce, hospitality and knowledge with visitors from near and far.

Food producers, restaurateurs and managers of attractions from Clare, Galway and Tipperary came to The Lakeside Hotel launch to hear Tom Doorley provide advice from his experience as a food and wine critic.

Tom detailed some opportunities for rural food establishments and recommended the continued symbiosis between local food producers and restaurants to clearly demonstrate “a taste of place”.

“A Taste of Lough Derg provides a great platform for local businesses and clearly demonstrates the willingness and creativity of providers. This programme of compelling and unique events offers locals and visitors alike the chance to experience their venues in a novel way,” he said.

The team at Portumna Castle has planned a multi sensory event that includes a talk and a walk through the walled garden, there will be a day of historic talks organised by The Workhouse, Portumna the following week. Lough Derg’s gastro pubs are really getting into the spirit of occasion with Nuala’s in Tuamgraney offering a tour through the village, followed by a special set menu; There will be a number of outdoorsy events so that visitors can enjoy the best of what the lake has to offer. The Ring of Lough Derg BBQ competition at Flanagan’s, Ballina will take place this weekend, then there will also be the collaboration of Killaloe River Cruises with Tuscany canapés and ‘Sling Shot’ gin on Lough Derg, and in another relaxing event, you can take in the views from Brookfield farm as you enjoy your yoga practice in the open air!

There’s a wonderful opportunity to get to the source of the food in two locations in Clare with Irish Seedsavers holding a harvest festival for all the family in Scariff and a chance to have a delicious insight into the work at a real working chocolate factory at Wilde’s Irish Chocolates, Tuamgraney.

A Taste of Lough Derg is running in conjunction with the all island ‘Taste the Island’. Full Details can be located on social media and on www.atasteofloughderg.ie.

WELLNESS THERAPY OFFER IN FEAKLE THE Ciunas Centre in Feakle is offering a back to school special offer on one-hour wellness therapy, for €35. The offer runs from September 1-30, for more information call 061 924837 or email ciunascentrefeakle@gmail.com.

TORPEY CUP AT EAST CLARE GOLF CLUB Now in its third year, the annual Golf Classic for the Torpey Cup will take place in East Clare Golf Club from September 14-22 inclusive. The competition will be a modified scramble and is open to ladies and gents in any combination. The cost of entry is €160 per team of four including dinner.

There is a prize fund of €2,000. To book a tee time, contact East Clare Golf Club on 061-921322.

This year’s event is being run as a fundraiser for the Kilkishen Cultural Centre.

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2018

CLARECASTLE SHOW

l BEST IN SHOW: (clockwise from above) Michael and Eileen Slattery with the Clare Rose, Victoria O’Connell; Emily Boatman coming first in her Section; Seamus and Maurice Wafer, Wicklow won the All Ireland Colt Foal Final; Ronan and Oonagh Gilvarry, Headford, celebrating their win at Clarecastle Show; Tiernan O’Rourke, Clarecastle, watching the model trains; Mary Rothwell with her horse showing the crowd his teeth; Andrew, Lorraine and Oisin Barenscher, Gort enjoying the dog show; Megan O’Sullivan, Pallasgreen and Carol Ruttle, Rathkeale Photos by Brendan Gleeson

OUT AND ABOUT 27

28 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

BUSINESS

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

Three retailers in Excellence finals

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SHORTLIST featuring Ireland’s most innovative and forward-thinking retailers has been announced ahead of Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Awards, taking place on Wednesday September 18 in Dublin’s Clayton Hotel, Burlington Rd. This year, Clare retailers feature strongly on the list of finalists, with Talty’s Mace, Circle K being shortlisted in the License to Sell Alcohol Category; Fitzpatrick’s Service Station featuring in Category Management and Donnellan’s Centra, Texaco service making the grade in Store Manager of the Year.

The prestigious Ireland-wide awards, now in their 16th year, are the only specialist awards for the forecourt and convenience industry. Spanning 17 categories, each award is independently judged by Spotcheck through a series of shop visits and panel interviews with industry experts. The top scoring stores will be entered into the overall Forecourt Retailer of the Year category.

Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Gala Awards Dinner will take place on Wednesday September 18, following Ireland’s Convenience Retailer Summit 2019, which will see nine globally renowned speakers take to the stage to discuss ‘What’s Next for Food-to-go’ – helping delegates better

l WINNERS: Irene Collins Managing Director of EIQA presenting a Q Mark Award for Hygiene and Food Safety to Joan Donnellan and Edwina Donnellan from Donnellan’s Centra Lougville last year Photo by Conor McCabe Photography

Keatings go to Hell and back for Ronald McDonald House

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NE Clare company has had a particular reason to smile this summer having raised much needed funds for charity.

Marine, civil engineering and building company, Keating raised €4,000 after completing Hell and Back last month. The funds will go towards Miles for Smiles which is an inaugural nationwide motorcycle event benefiting Ronald McDonald House (RMHC) and Bikers Ride Out for Prems (BROFP), taking place on

Thursday, September 12 .

The joint venture between the two charities to raise funds towards the building of a room at the new Ronald McDonald House, at the new National Children’s Hospital and buy life-saving medical equipment for neonatal units around Ireland.

Keating’s donation will be used to provide a support car for the four-day charity event, which will accompany riders along the way on the nationwide journey.

“These are two incredible charities that provide care, support and treat-

l GIVING BACK: Employees from Keating Construction raised €4,000 after completing Hell and Back

ment for sick children and their families around the country, who often have to travel long and far to Dublin to be close to their children in often tough and very difficult times,” CEO of Keating Construction, Gordon O’Regan said.

“Miles for Smiles will raise funds for both deserving causes in a fun and exciting way and see riders travel across Ireland.

“Keating is also very exciting that our Dublin Office Manager, Lisa Ludlow will be driving the support car and helping the riders on their important journey”, he added.

Ronald McDonald House provides accommodation for families who have seriously ill children in Our Lady’s Hospital Crumlin so that families can be nearby.

Bikers Ride Out for Prems fundraises to buy medical equipment for NICUs and hospitals for sick children around the country. As Miles for Smiles makes the upcoming journey, they will be delivering lifesaving medical equipment to hospitals caring for sick children.

September 12 sees Miles for Smiles set off on the four-day charity ride which will span 1,500km visiting numerous hospitals along the way.

understand the major growth opportunities offered in this industry. All Awards finalists will be complimentary VIP Guests at the Gala Awards dinner and Summit.

Any non-finalists wishing to attend either event can purchase tickets directly from the Awards organisers.

Bill Penton, Managing Director of Penton Exhibitions which organises the Awards and Summit, said: “The awards have become an established focal point of the industry calendar and are widely recognised as a benchmark of retail success. We work in an extremely fast-paced, competitive environment and there are many great examples of retailers who are driving innovation in the sector and going the extra mile to provide excellent customer service. The awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise this great work.

“Many of our finalists form an integral part of their local community, providing an excellent range of products and services to customers around the clock and providing vital local employment.”

For further information about the Awards or to book tickets for the Gala Dinner, please contact +353 1 639 2960 or +44 (0) 28 9045 7457, email: pamela.beers@pentonpublications.co.uk or visit: forecourtretailer.com

National Enterprise Town judging kicks off THE judging panel for the 2019 Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards is visiting two Clare towns over the coming weeks, giving business and community groups an opportunity to showcase the spirit of enterprise in their local area.

Ennis and Kilrush are competing against towns from across the country that have been nominated by local authorities and their Local Enterprise Offices or recommended by the public.

The judging process will cover a wide range of areas including local enterprise initiatives, attractiveness of the town, enterprise partnerships, town leadership, overall community support as well as efforts to foster better inclusion and diversity.

On Friday September 6, the judges will visit Kilrush in the morning and Ennis in the afternoon.

A total awards prize fund of almost

€200,000 will be shared by 40 towns including the overall national winner and the winner of the “Rising Star” category.

Commenting ahead of the judging process, Eamonn Corcoran, Head of Bank of Ireland for Clare said: “Clare is very well represented in this year’s Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards and the judges will have the opportunity to see the strong spirit of enterprise that exists in the two towns they will be visiting. Enabling communities and business to thrive is at the heart of what we do at Bank of Ireland and the National Enterprise Town Awards are a chance for us to recognise and reward the spirit of enterprise across the country.

“We value the support of Clare County Council and its Local Enterprise Office and I wish the Clare nominees the best of luck for the judges’ visit and for the awards ceremony later in the year.”

BUSINESS 29

THURSDAY, SEPT 5 2019

Make the right career move with HealthSET training QQI accredited level five course available in Ennis

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EALTHSET is a healthcare training company offering QQI accredited healthcare courses in the Clare area.

The specilaized company has been offering FETAC/ QQI level 5 healthcare courses in Ennis for the past 8 years.

Courses are suitable for adults looking for a career change and interested to pursue paid work as a Carer. The part- time courses are also ideal for Family Carers looking after a relative at home.

Currently the Care sector remains a growth sector in Ireland with many of HealthSET students successfully gaining full time employment on completion of courses.

There are many Care agencies

seeking Carers at the moment, particulatly in the homecare sector.

In order to become a Carer in Ireland, it is now a HSE/ HIQA requirement that Carers have a minimum qualification.

These qualifications are the courses - QQI level 5 Care of the older person and QQI level 5 Care Skills .

HealthSET prides itself on being a practical based training company which has successfully built an expert team of experienced clinical Nurses Tutors over the years.

The training centre, based in 87 O’Connell street, Ennis offers spacious facilities with training mannequins allowing students the opportunity to practice their nursing care skills in a supervised environment.

The owner Deirdre Vaughan, a nurse by profession says: “it is very important that Carers received good quality practical training before they start working with vunerable adults.

“Carers must be trained to a high standard as many of them in the homecare sector may find themselves working on their own with clients.”

HealthSET also offers specialized courses such as - QQI level 5 Palliative Care Support.

This course has been very helpful for people who might be looking after a relative at home who has a long-term illness.

The course explores themes such as grief/ bereavement and coping mechanisms.

It also offers practical advice on accessing palliative care services

and caring for someone who is terminally ill.

The course is delivered by an experienced Nurse Tutor specializing in Palliative Care.

Other courses available are: QQI level 5 Infection Prevention & Control and QQI level 5 Care Support for students who are looking to progress towards a Major Award in Healthcare Support or simply expand their healthcare skills.

For more information, please call Deirdre Vaughan on 087-6295353 or email info@ healthset.ie (see www.healthset. ie for course dates).

Alternatively, drop into their office on the second floor at 87 l CAREER OPPORTUNITY: Deirdre Upper O’Connell Street, Ennis. Vaughan, owner of HealthSET

30 OPINION

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

Eoin Neylon

An inside look at Clare’s political spectrum 065 6828 383

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www.cahirsolicitors.com

Parental Leave: Key considerations

ONG overdue and welcomed by employees, the Parental Leave (Amendment Act) 2019 came into force on September 1, 2019, substantially increasing the length of time off parents will be entitled to take off after childbirth and for existing children under the age of 12. It is a very positive step, recognising the importance of families and early childhood care.

It brings sizeable implications for employees and employers. Up to now under the existing legislation, The Parental Leave Act 1998, entitles parents of children up to eight years old or 16 years old where a child has a disability (currently entitled to take only 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave).

Under the new law, the Parental Leave (Amendment Act) 2019, the mandatory unpaid entitlement is now increased from 18 weeks to 22 weeks for children 8-12 years of age. In effect all new-born children will fall under the new Law but of real significance is the entitlement for employees to take leave for existing children born before the new law came into being. The age for which your child qualifies you for parental leave has also been increased. The new law applies to both men and women and allows them to take unpaid leave from their current employment to give them additional time to care for their children. The act covers all children born to you, children adopted by you and children whom you act in loco parentis of.

SOME SERIOUS CONSIDERATIONS In order to qualify for Parental leave the Act says the employee must have one year’s continuous service with the employer.

Each parent has a separate entitlement to parental leave from his/ her job. Therefore it is now possible for both parents to be off work unpaid at the same time. While out on leave your other employment entitlements still continue to accrue to you e.g. holiday entitlement. Your period of leave can be extended by the number of holiday days you have accrued while you are on unpaid leave.

You can under the new law apply to take the leave in continuous blocks or with the consent and agreement of your employer. This is an excellent opportunity for parents but one that smaller employers will find hard to facilitate. It is more realistic in some situations, employees and employers will agree to the leave broken up over a period of time to facilitate both parties.

It is important to note that because this is unpaid leave, historically there has been a low uptake particularly by men. Anecdotally, parental leave is taken by more women than men. Often women approach their employers with a view to tagging on Parental leave to the end of maternity leave. For example, Innovative solutions such as reducing a 5 day work week to a 4 day or 3 day week by using the days from the parental if agreed with the employer. Each workplace will have different policies to deal with the New Parental leave. It is given at the discretion of the employer at a time agreed by both parties.

There are no statistics currently on the uptake of parental leave. It is an arrangement exclusively between an employer and an employee, at the discretion of the employer and there is currently no obligation to

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36 Abbey Street, Ennis

notify the State. There is no formal recording mechanism within the State to follow the uptake or increase or decrease in parental leave taken. A survey of 400 companies by business group, Ibec, found 81% of employers do agree to fragmented parental leave.

During Parental leave employment rights are fully protected and an employee has the right to return to work after such leave.

No remuneration or superannuation benefits accrue, however annual leave does continue to accrue while on Parental leave and you are entitled to any public holidays that accrue during parental leave.

To apply you must provide your employer with written notification not later than six weeks before the employee intends to take the leave. This notification should state clearly the proposed date which the employee wishes to begin Parental leave.

Your notice should also state the length of time the you intend to take and the manner in which you propose to take it and as it’s a formal request, it should be signed.

Your Employer can consider the request and can postpone the parental leave for an agreed period not exceeding 6 months if it would have adverse consequences on the business. The employer may postpone your request only once in respect of each child.

When an Employer agrees to the Parental leave a formal Confirmation of Parental leave document should be prepared confirming the specific details of the leave. This is of utmost importance to both the employer and employee so the specific dates and terms agreed are clear and available to be reviewed in case of any issues arising.

Employers must be mindful of requirements to keep records of all parental leave requests and records of parental leave taken by employees. These records must include the period of employment of each employee and the dates and times when leave was taken. Employers you must keep these records for 8 years and a failure to do so may leave you liable to a fine.

Disputes about parental leave can be referred to the workplace relations within 6 months of the dispute. Most notably the legislation also protects parents who take parental leave from unfair dismissals.

Another welcome change is the proposal for paid parental leave entitlement of 2 weeks. This is set to be introduced in 2019 and whilst the General Scheme is only being published, it is proposed that this leave must be taken within first year of child’s birth or adoption. There will likely be a greater uptake in this than the unpaid parental leave in so far as it is paid by the State at €254 per week. The leave can be taken before additional maternity leave or adoption leave. This is likely to commence in November 2019 and will increase incrementally to 7 weeks by 2021. It will be a matter for employers to make a commercial decision if they wish to top up the basic payments.

Contact Avril Collentine Solicitor for all your Employment and Parental Leave Queries at Cahir and Co Solicitors, 36 Abbey Street Ennis. A family business protecting your family. www.cahirsolicitors.com.

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Prepare for worst on Brexit, hope for best

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HIS week has proven a seminal one in British, if not World politics.

The scenes we are seeing in Westminster will be poured over by researchers and political scientists for generations to come. It’s no doubt that we do live in interesting times. However, with the political landscape across the Irish Sea changing by the minutes, there’s a large chance that between my submitting this article and it being published, it’ll likely be out of date. Such is the breakneck speed at which things are escalating in London. After three years of hard graft with only minor breakthroughs and a lot of stalemates, it now seems, one way or another, that Brexit is going to come to a head for us all.

Through all the mess and the screaming and shouting in recent weeks, there are a few points worth mentioning.

Firstly, that the other EU 26 have stood by our side resolutely throughout the whole process and all negotiations.

The UK tried everything to have their cake and eat which would mean massive implications for the island of Ireland.

It could have been a quick fix get out for the European Institutions to go along with it and ask Ireland to make a sacrifice one way or the other. Instead, they too have wrapped themselves in the green flag as the UK Government’s rhetoric became more and more adversarial since Boris Johnston (pictured) remarkably became Prime Minister.

Anyone who previously questioned whether being in the EU was a good idea to that point certainly have their answer now. Without their unwavering backing, Ireland could have come out of this extremely badly. Instead, we have arguably the largest say in the future of the UK. But what future has the UK itself? Never in all our lifetimes has our neighbour looked more in danger of becoming a failed state. Talk of Scotland and Northern Ireland leaving

the Union has amplified multiple fold. The Pound Sterling continues to decline, and is likely to reach parity with the Euro in a matter of days. Their economy is already contracting with a further quarter of contraction moving the UK into an official recession.

This at a time that the rest of Europe, including Ireland, are experiencing strong growth.

There is a very real chance that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will cease to be within a short number of years. The Scottish Government are pushing for another independence referendum on the basis of securing Scotland’s place in the EU. Likewise, polling in Northern Ireland has indicated that former moderate Unionist voters there are beginning to look at the prospect of a 32 county Republic as a way of remaining tied to the largest Single Market on Earth.

All will depend on events in the Commons this week as British MPs move into Brexit end game. Either Boris gets to plod ahead with proroguing Parliament and careering the UK to a No-Deal Brexit, or else Parliament will get to legislatively block such a move and ensure that a No-Deal is no longer possible, bringing the original deal back onto the table one more time. Finally, and more likely, we may see a no confidence motion preceding a General Election that all parties are gunning for. The nature of the hung Parliament and the Tories’ reliance on the DUP means that any deal that avoids a border on the is-

land of Ireland will not succeed. Remove the DUP from the equation and the Tories, as admitted in private conversations, would happily run a deal with the backstop through Parliament. Should the Tories not win a majority, we could see Labour, the Lib Dems and SNP step up to form a Government to stop Brexit altogether and put it to the people once more.

All parties in Britain are confident of making gains in a General Election. However, they can’t all be correct about that.

Meanwhile, we here in Ireland must continue to prepare for the worst, yet hope for the best. Businesses getting materials from the UK should be sourcing alternatives from the Continent. Those that export mainly to the UK should be trying to find new buyers in the EU26. Before those are realistic though, the Government needs to assure people that enough ferry and cargo transport directly from Ireland to Europe can be sourced for after the October 31st deadline day. If they can’t, then all the goodwill in the World won’t help business here get over the logistical, geographic and traffic issues that may befall them post NoDeal Brexit.

The EU (including Ireland) and UK face down going into the last eight weeks is possibly the highest stakes poker game of all time. With hundreds of billions of Euros worth of trade, as well as the status of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to live and work where they now call home, neither side wants to be accused of hubris nor weakness. It’s a very thin tight rope politicians on all side are walking and if they fall, we all lose.

Fingers crossed that sensible heads prevail in the Commons this week and among the British people in the week’s ahead. I live in hope, but alas, not in expectation. We need to be ready and Government needs to show the lead in this regard. We’re all in it together so lets hope that the cross party unity we’ve seen on Brexit hold for the remaining few weeks. We’ve all far too much to lose.

Property

Beautiful homes all over the County

OPEN VIEWING: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH 11.00AM TO 11.30AM SHARP.

NOUGHAVAL DOORA, ENNIS CO. CLARE

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€239,000

5 KILVOYDAN COROFIN CO. CLARE

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€239,000 CRAGGAGH FANORE CO. CLARE

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€260,000

MOYRIESK QUIN, ENNIS CO. CLARE

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€299,000

HIS attractive bungalow is ideally located in Doora approximately 1.5km from Junction 12 of the M18 Limerick-Galway motorway.

The property is presented superbly and stands on a mature landscaped site of approximately 0.4 acre (0.16 hectare).

Accommodation comprises an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/dining area, utility room, four bedrooms (all of which have built-in wardrobes, with a WC and one with an en-suite) and a bathroom. Accommodation is bright and spacious throughout.

Total area 109 sq.m (1,173 sq.ft) approx.

HIS fine 3 bedroom detached property comes to the market in excellent condition. Ideally located within walking distance of Corofin National School, shops, Church and all other local amenities. Accommodation is very spacious comprising 152 sq.m (1,635 sq.ft.) approx and includes an open plan kitchen, living and dining room, sitting room, utility room, store room, main bathroom downstairs with electric shower over bath and 3 bedrooms (all ensuite). Heating is by way of oil fired central heating and a solid fuel fireplace in the living room.

Viewings are highly recommended.

HIS fine 3 bedroom property is ideally located within walking distance of all local amenities in Fanore and is within easy access of the beach. The property was constructed in the 1980's and extended to the rear in the 1990's. Accommodation is spacious and comprises a kitchen and dining area, sitting room, utility room, shower room, wet room, 3 bedrooms and a spacious loft area.

Externally, the grounds are mainly in lawn with a tarmac drive, ample parking and a detached storage shed. There are water views to the rear of the property. OFCH. Total Area 105 sq.m.

(1,129 sq.ft.) approx.

HIS magnificent family home is ideally located in the extremely sought after Moyriesk area in Quin, 10 minutes from the M18 motorway and 15 minutes approx. from Ennis town centre.

Accommodation on the ground floor comprises an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/dining area, utility room, two double bedrooms and a shower-room that can be accessed from one of the bedrooms and from the utility room. On the first floor there are three spacious double bedrooms (one with en-suite) and a bathroom.

The property is presented superbly and stands on a landscaped site of circa 0.5 acres. 186.5sq.m (2,006 sq.ft) approx.

Contact: Tiernan O’Malley, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon Tel: 065 686 7866 PSL 001212

Contact: Danielle Kavanagh, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon Tel: 065 686 7866 PSL 001212

Contact: Danielle Kavanagh, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon Tel: 065 686 7866 PSL 001212

Contact: Tiernan O’Malley, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon Tel: 065 686 7866 PSL 001212

PROPERTY

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

73 ARD CAOIN, GORT ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€149,000

53 INIS CLÁIR, KILDYSART ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€194,500

L

L

Contact: Location Location, Unit 2, Summerhill, Market Place, Ennis Tel: 065 68 23718 PSL 003928

Contact: Location Location, Unit 2, Summerhill, Market Place, Ennis Tel: 065 68 23718 PSL 003928

OCATION Location presents this 3 bedroom duplex to the market in pristine condition. Ard Caoin is a perfect first step onto the property ladder or indeed a great prospect for purchasers seeking a quality down size option.This sought after development is located on the Gort/ Galway Road (N18), less than one mile to Ennis By-pass (exit 14) and only a short distance to town centre and all local amenities.

Built in 2005, with contemporary and freshly painted living accommodation over two floors and two balconies. This property extends to 103.57 sq m (1,115 sq ft) with east-west aspect.

OCATION Location are delighted to present this contemporary property to the market. Extending to 135.93 sqm (1463 sq ft) this home offers stylish and modern living quarters and presents an ideal opportunity for anyone seeking a home or investment property.

53 Inis Clair is a four bedroom family home that is presented for sale to the highest of standards. Upon entering viewers will be instantly impressed by the superb finish, comprising of an entrance hall, lounge, open plan kitchen / dining area, utility & wc. First floor has three bedrooms & main bathroom whilst the second floor has a spacious master bedroom en-suite.

KILNOE HOUSE, CLARE ROAD, €250,000 ENNIS, CO. CLARE

K

ILNOE House is an attractive four bed detached residence standing on a mature c. 0.3 acre site, with superb potential to enhance, owing to it's spacious interior and grounds. It's much sought-after location offers close proximity to an unrivalled choice of amenities including St Flannan's College, numerous sporting & recreational facilities, together with schools & shops all accessible on foot within minutes. A stroll to Ennis Bus & Rail and town centre & the Ennis by-pass is within easy reach for commuters to Limerick/Shannon/Galway. Accommodation is bright, spacious, with high ceilings, extends to approx 194.48 sqm (2093 sq ft).

Contact: Location Location, Unit 2, Summerhill, Market Place, Ennis Tel: 065 68 23718 PSL 003928

32

EchoSport Collins ratified as Clare manager by

PÁRAIC McMAHON

CLUB delegates don’t often agree when it comes to meeting of the Clare County Board but they were all on the same page when it came to a proposal to extend Colm Collins’ term as manager of the senior footballers for 2020.

Delegates ratified Collins’ appointment at Tuesday’s meeting at Clareabbey which ensures he will be back on the sidelines for a seventh year in 2020. Only Mickey Harte and Jim Gavin of the current batch of inter-county managers have served longer than the Kilmihil native.

Chairman of Clare GAA, Joe Cooney was delighted to put forward Collins for the position once again and wished him well as they endeavour to qualify for the Super 8s next year.

His term thus far has been successful as the Banner have climbed from Division Four in the Allianz National Football League to retaining their spot in Division 2 for the past three seasons. Cooraclare delegate Sean Chambers remarked that “Clare football has benefited greatly from Colm Collins”.

Speaking after the meeting, Collins confirmed that the same backroom team would be staying on which was “key” in his decision. Head of sport science at UL, Brian Carson will continue as coach along with selectors Enda Coughlan, Declan Downes, Evan Shanahan and All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Declan O’Keeffe.

On what he will be hoping to achieve next year, the Cratloe clubman said, “The most important thing when you work with any group of players is to get the best out of them and get them to play to their potential and give them every opportunity to help them achieve, that’s basically it, whatever group ends up on our panel for 2020 we will achieve what we can achieve with that group of players, that would be key”.

l STAYING IN THE HOOD: Colm Collins’ term as manager of the senior footballers has been extended for 2020 Photo courtesy Martin Connolly

Ballyea bounce back to reach QF

F

EAKLE, Ballyea, Éire Óg and Cratloe have secured their spots in the quarter-finals of the Clare SHC, writes Páraic McMahon.

County champions BALLYEA bounced back from their disappointing second round loss to Sixmilebridge with a convincing 2-24 0-14 win over WOLFE TONES. Tony Kelly (1-07) and Niall Deasy (1-05) accounted for 2-12 of their tally. Deasy’s goal on the twenty eighth minute of the first half would put seven points between the sides, up to then the Shannon side were certainly in the contest. They limited the Tones to just three points in the second half while adding 1-13 themselves. ÉIRE ÓG are through to their fourth consecutive Clare SHC quarter-final following a deserved 2-13 1-14 victory against NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS. First half goals from Darren O’Brien and the lively Danny Russell gave the Ennis club a slender one point advantage at half-time, with a strong wind at their backing the Townies would have been worried at the break not to have been further ahead. Despite dominating the first ten minutes, the Blues had only a single score on the board which would prove costly as the contest progressed. Stephen Kelly once again put in a strong display for Newmarket, he goaled in the second half and despite the game going down to the wire, Éire Óg did enough to qualify.

Reigning intermediate champions FEAKLE booked their spot in the last eight coming through in a hard-fought battle with CLOONEY/QUIN, it finished 3-17 1-21 in their favour.

Clooney/Quin started the better with five different scores in the opening quarter however Feakle finished the half with a 2-03 brace in five minutes to lead 2-09 0-12 at the break.

Ger Hanrahan was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence reducing the East Clare men to fourteen, their opponents took a lift from it with Ryan Taylor ratting the net soon after. The insurance score for Michael Guilfoyle’s side came when Enda Noonan pushed the sliotar over the line on fifty seven minutes.

Last year’s beaten finalists CRATLOE dumped Clare Cup champions KILMALEY out of the race for the Canon Hamilton on Sunday afternoon. Although Kilmaley built up a 0-07 0-01 advantage inside the opening thirteen minutes, they were outscored 1-15 0-05 for the remainder of the tie as their continued absence of a goal threat proved costly.

Minus the services of Diarmuid Ryan, the Mike Deegan coached Cratloe had excellent displays from their full back line of Enda Boyce, Micheal Hawes and Oige Murphy with Conor McGrath also to the fore at centre field.

WHITEGATE and CLARECASTLE have consolidated their senior status for 2020. The East Clare derby between Whitegate and O’CALLAGHANS MILLS finished 3-18 1-15 with Clarecastle beating TULLA 1-19 1-12.

Having contested the Clare IHC relegation final last year, KILLANENA have had quite the turnaround as they now find themselves in the quarter-finals following their 0-17 0-14 win over a fancied PARTEEN. SIXMILEBRIDGE’S second string had too much for COROFIN (3-17 2-16). Goals from Cian Shannon, Tom Barry and Paul O’Looney helped Inagh/Kilnamona on their way to a 3-10 0-10 victory against Cratloe. DOORA/BAREFIELD limited BODYKE to three points in the second half as they as expected advanced to the last eight, recording a 1-19 0-11 win.

l BURSTING THROUGH: At the Park, Feakle had too much for Clooney/Quin Photo by Mark Hayes Sports Photography

GOLF

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

35

Clare minors on team of year

C

LARE minor hurlers Shane Meehan and Cian Galvin have been selected on the Electric Ireland Minor Star Awards Hurling Team of the Year.

Clarecastle’s Galvin was captain of the Fergal Lynch managed side that reached the All-Ireland quarter-final play off having lost out in the Munster final to Limerick. Cian operated as a sweeper for the bulk of the campaign but still contributed to the scoreboard accumulating a tally of 1-09 in the provincial and All-Ireland campaign. He was named at centre back on the team of the year.

For the second year in a row, Shane Meehan of the Banner club lit up the minor championship. The pacy attacker combined his hurling commitments with his role as minor football captain. He finished the year with 1-30 to his name on the hurling field. Shane was selected at corner forward.

It has yet to be confirmed if Lynch will seek a second year in charge of the minor panel, his football counterpart Dermot Coughlan will remain in his post. The ex Clare attacker was joined on his management team by Jimmy Meagher, Francis Browne and Tom Downes. They suffered four defeats, two to Limerick and one each to Galway and Kilkenny, they along with Clare were the last remaining teams in the hunt for the Irish Press Cup. Six representatives from All-Ireland winners Galway are included in the side, three each from beaten finalists Kilkenny, three from Munster champions Limerick, one from Wexford plus Meehan and Galvin.

Among those responsible for selecting the team were former Waterford boss Derek McGrath and retired Galway dual star, Alan Kerins. The panel will also select an overall Hurling Player of the Year whose name will be announced at the 2019 Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Awards event at Croke Park on September 28th.

2019 Electric Ireland Hurling Team of the Year

1: Aidan Tallis – Kilkenny (Lisdowney) 2: Christy Brennan – Galway (Clarinbridge) 3: Eoin Lawless – Galway (St. Mary’s, Athenry) 4: Ronan Lyons – Limerick (Monaleen) 5: Ian McGlynn – Galway (Kilconieron) 6: Cian Galvin – Clare (Clarecastle) 7: Peter McDonald – Kilkenny (Thomastown) 8: Alex Connaire – Galway (Sarsfields)

9: Patrick Kirby – Limerick (Patrickswell) 10: Greg Thomas – Galway (Ballygar) 11: Seán McDonagh – Galway (Mountbellew - Moylough) 12: Cathal O’Neill – Limerick (Crecora-Manister) 13: Billy Drennan – Kilkenny (Galmoy) 14: AJ Redmond – Wexford (Rathnure) 15: Shane Meehan – Clare (The Banner)

Reduce your putting average

T

O START reducing how many putts you take in a round of golf I want you to first understand the importance of the pace of your putting. I watched a video recently by David Peltz where he did a survey with a couple of thousand golfers at every level from touring professional to high handicap golfers and the results were incredibly interesting.

He set up a twelve foot putt with an 18” inch left to right break to the hole. He set the putt up where the ball started 18” inches to the left of the hole where the ball would just about end up reaching the hole and fall in. I think this part is key we all hear hit the ball a foot or two past the hole but I myself have been trying this method for years and I find I don’t hold as many putts as I used to when I focussed on lagging my putts

to the hole. I agree with a closer putt if you are happy to hit it firm on take the break out of the putt, but from five feet or further away I believe you should work on allowing your putts to fall into the hole rather than trying to hit them firm hoping to hit the back of the hole.

On this 18” inch putt Peltz found that not one golfer allowed the full 18” inches of break, in fact the most break that was allowed on this putt was 14” inches and some golfers only allowed 3” inches of break. These golfers tried to hit the ball firm at the hole but ended up leaving themselves on average six feet still away from the hole. Peltz fascinated by his findings that nobody allowed the full 18” inches, carried out further surveys with his clients for months afterwards and he discovered that every single golfer he analysed didn’t allow for enough break.

One hundred per cent of the golfers he tested did not allowed for enough of a break on their aim line. The first step towards reducing your putting average is to get rid of three putts from every scorecard. To achieve this start working on improving your putting pace where your ball is stopping adjacent to the hole when you miss a putt, rather than trying to roll your ball past the hole every time.

However remember you must also allow for the additional break, in fact according to Peltz findings we need to allow from 35-30% of additional break than we are currently allowing. Practice drill : To improve your putting pace, place an alignment stick on the green and try hitting different length putts where you are trying to get your ball to stop and rest up against the alignment stick. You will begin to notice when you practice this method the ball will take more of a break hence you will have to allow for this when you are choosing your new aim line.

Improve the pace of your putting along with allowing for the extra break and you should find once you get comfortable rolling your putts into the hole you get rid of the majority of your three putts from your scorecard, helping you to lower the amount of putts your have on average.

PGA Golf Professional

#PadraigKnowsGolf

Padraig McGrath

GOLF ANALYSIS

The Scorecard in association with

KILRUSH GOLF CLUB September 01 Sun: Flan Brew Memorial Trophy Men’s Singles Jim Kelly (21) 39 pts (Back 9) Seamus O’Doherty (12) 39 pts Martin Flaherty (17) 38 pts August 28 John McNamara Cup: Remembrance Day Senior Mixed Scramble 1 Seamus O’Doherty, John O’Neill, Tom O’Dea, Mary Keating 35.9 pts (B9) 2 Michael McNamara, Michael Lillis, Michael Leonard, Lucy Blake 35.9 (B6) 3 Ml Ryan, Tom McGrath, Bill Murphy, Loretta Maher 35.9 August 29: Wild Atlantic Opticians Ladies’ Singles 1 Margaret Donnelly (17) 35 pts 2 Anne Brennan (13) 35 pts (Back 9) 3 Joan O’Malley (18) 35 pts 4 Ailish Lorigan (17) 34 pts Cat1 Mary Bolton (17) 33 pts Cat2 Agnes Shannon (21) 33 pts Cat3 Anne Hogan (31) 32 pts UPCOMING FIXTURES September 06 Fri: Jude Pyne Memorial Mixed. Draw @ 5.30 pm. Presentation of prizes for August / Summer at 8.30 pm.

September 28 Sat: Rescheduled Munster Past Lady Captains. Timesheet 0659051138.

ENNIS GOLF CLUB Gent’s 4 Ball B/B(9/10hdc) 18 Holes Sat. 31st Aug. 2019 1st J K Considine(12) & Liam Pyne(5) 43pts MASTERS FINAL 2019 Sun. 1st Sept.

1st Oisin Mc Carthy(18) 40pts 2nd Andrew Mc Gloin(12) 38pts Gross : Matthew Whelan(5) 74gross 3rd Brian O’ Gorman(9) 36pts 4th Eddie Glenny(18) 35pts 5th Peter Quinn(17) 35pts 6th Gerard Hannon(19) 34pts 7th Noel Pilkington(17) 34pts 8th John Considine(12) 34pts 9th John M Mc Carthy(16) 34pts GOLFER OF THE YEAR : Seamus Frehill Ladies results 18H s/f 28th August 1st Patricia Moroney (22) 34pts (back 9:16v15) 2nd Kitty Morris (12) 34pts (back 9:15v14) 3rd Joan Murphy (29) 34pts 9 Hole s/f 1st Emer McHale (30) 17pts 2nd Pat Leacy (29) 16pts 3rd Rose Enright (27) 15pts

36 www.clareecho.ie

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Secretarial Services: Reports, Letters, Theses, CV’s, Essays, Manuscripts, etc. Professional presentaion on print or digital media. Keenest rates. Confidentiality guaranteed. Collection/delivery can be arranged in Ennis area.

Call 087-7630024 for further details.

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38 PUZZLEPAGE

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Best Daily Word Search

THIS WEEKS PUZZLES SEP 5

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QUIZ 39

THURSDAY, SEP 5 2019

The Clare Echo Quiz

Ballinalacken Castle was a 1Clare stronghold of which infamous family?

Fitzgerald’s O’ Brien’s Mac Mahon’s

2

Belvedere Castle at Dromoland was built for the purpose of?

A watchtower A stronghold for treasure A place for watching horse racing

Tower was built in 1835 7O’forBrien’s the purpose of?

Tourism To house the Earl of Thomond As a lighthouse

O’ Dea’s Castle was lost to its 8 original owners after which battle?

The Battle of Dysert O’ Dea The Battle of the Boyne The Battle of Aughrim

style was the Quin Friary first stone castle at Bunratty 9Which built in?

3The was built in the____?

Gothic Medieval Victorian

Castle was built by 4Carrigaholt which family?

Island is home to a 10Scattery 6th c. _____.

many castles are there in 5How County Clare?

By Cian O’Broin

108 186 220

Castle Monastic Settlement Lighthouse

l QUESTION 10: Scattery Island is home to a 6th c. _____.

photo courtesy of Clare County Council

ANSWERS 6. Baronic 7. Tourism 8. The Battle of the Boyne 9. Gothic 10. Monastic Settlement

McMahon’s De Burca’s O’ Brien’s

Dromoland Castle is one of the 6 most famous ____ Castles in Ireland.

Victorian Concentric Baronic

Spot the Difference Can you spot the difference? Spot the 7 differences.

The answers will be revealed in next weeks edition.

Photo by Arthur Ellis

1. O’ Brien’s 2. A place for watching horse racing 3. 1270’s 4. McMahon’s 5. 220

1190’s 1270’s 1340’s

Last weeks Answers . Fire Brigade symbol missing on truck . Mirror missing on truck . Black patch missing on womans suit . Light pole missing in background

. 1st mans eyebrows are missing . Reflective strip on 2nd man missing . 6th mans helmet is different colour