The Clare Echo 12/11/20

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NOV 12 2020

GLOBAL ATTENTION FOR ‘WEST CLARE HOTELIER’ Clare Echo story on Trump defeat goes viral STUART HOLLY

T

editor@clareecho.ie

HE Clare Echo has made waves around the world after our headline about President Donald Trump went viral online.

The tongue-in-cheek story by Head of News & Sport Páraic McMahon titled ‘West Clare hotelier loses out in US presidential election’ grabbed the attention of a number of high profile journalists and celebrities in the hours following Trump’s defeat to incumbent Joe Biden.

Hollywood actor and Boyle native Chris O’Dowd asked ‘Is this real?’ before retweeting the story which has so far been ‘liked’ on Twitter more than 9,000 times.

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Others who either shared or liked the story on social media platforms include Barack Obama’s chief speech writer Cody Keenan, Oscar-winning film director Jim Sheridan, musician Blindboy Boatclub and TV presenter Hector O Heochagain, to name a few.

By Monday morning, the article was being used in university lecture halls as it was highlighted to students of DCU’s journalism degree as an example of putting a local slant on an international news story.

Local support for Donald Trump had been voiced in Doonbeg where the Trump family have invested significantly and serve as one of the region’s main employers with over 305 jobs at peak season at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland.

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Email: ger.naughton@clareecho.ie or niall@clareecho.ie This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Press Council’s Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Press Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie

l BALD MOVE: Martin O’Halloran, James Giltinan and Liz Twomey pictured after shaving their heads to raise money for cancer research in memory of their colleague, Dave McMahon and (inset) Martin O’Halloran has his hair shaved off by James Giltinan

Photo by Simon Ting

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PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

A

MIST of purple rain has descended on top of one of East Clare’s biggest employers as part of efforts to raise money for cancer research.

In May of this year, Dave McMahon an employee of Beckman Coulter for 17 years died following a short cancer illness.

Married to Mary with two daughters, Jade and Clara, the Garryowen native was celebrated by his colleagues last week at a shave or dye fundraiser in aid of research at the Irish Cancer Society.

Two staff members, Liz Twomey and Martin O’Halloran both shaved off their long locks with James Giltinan acting as the barber.

Among the near 460 workforce at O’Callaghans Mills, some of whom are now working remotely, several individuals have dyed their hair purple including Dave’s colleagues in the Engineering department dying their beards purple in solidarity.

By doing so they are paying homage to Dave’s love of Prince and his Purple Rain classic which was played at the funeral earlier this year. Dave’s manager, James Giltinan acknowledged that a memorial bench is already in place at the East Clare facility.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, James explained that the initial plan was to raise some funds while Dave was on sick leave but following his sudden passing they remained steadfast in their goal to support cancer research.

“He was here for 17 years as a maintenance technician. “ We are a fairly close-knit group, he was here a long time. It originally started as an idea to fundraise for him and his family.

“When he passed away, I spoke with his wife Mary on an idea to donate for cancer research and use his name, they were delighted with it,” the Limerick native recalled.

Senior Manager for product management, Angela Keogh admitted that the fundraising efforts have managed to connect all employees be they working remotely or on-site.

“There were quite a few people walking around on site with purple beards and purple hair, other people have worn wigs at meetings and shared their photographs, it definitely helped to connect the team both on and off site at all levels”.

A native of Sixmilebridge but now living in Tulla, Angela confirmed to The Clare Echo that Beckman Coulter will also be donating to the fundraiser.

“We are very fortunate that the Beckman Coulter Foundation are going to match up to $100 per associate each contribution of the employees which is absolutely fantastic.

“All our funds will be going towards the Irish Cancer Society and we’ve asked specifically that the funds be donated to research projects given that Beckman Coulter is a diagnostics company”.

Within a three to four week window, €9,500 has been raised in donations and the just giving link will remain open for the entire month of November as Beckman Coulter remember Dave McMahon and honour his legacy by increasing cancer awareness and investing in cancer research.

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THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Hero rescues stranded pet dog CIAN O’BROIN

A

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

DRAMATIC rescue on the banks of the River Fergus was witnessed by dozens of bypassers in Ennis recently, as a man scaled down a tree onto a riverbank to save a dog which had been stuck their overnight.

Patch the dog was rescued late last month on October 28, having spent the entire night and most of the subsequent day on a small inlet below a wall by Bank Place, Ennis.

A number of conflicting stories contend over how the Springer-Spaniel slipped into the river. Youths and fireworks have been cited, however; the owner believes that he was chasing a bird or duck in the water and couldn’t make it out due to the sheer force of the current.

Pat Toibin, who eventually lifted the dog to safety states, “The initial discovery of the dog occurred when a man was walking his husky through town. When passing a 5ft high wall, the dog would not pass the wall and kept running over and back, barking over the wall. His owner assumed that there was a mouse in over the wall. It was amazing that he could sense what was down below.

He looked in over the wall himself and spotted the dog about 15ft underneath him on a

little island on the corner.”

The call was then put out to Pat and his partner Catriona, who operate Hilltop Sanctuary, an animal rescue farm in East Clare.

After arriving and assessing the situation, Pat noted that the only way down to the dog was by making use of a tree along the side that was passing up the wall. Pat climbed up onto the wall and scaled down the tree. “We got to him.

“He was fairly delighted. I could see that he had been sleeping there the night before, he had curled up into a little bed of leaves.

He was freezing cold. On another day, it would have been the end of him. He was freezing and hungry. He was a beautiful little dog, but he was exhausted from trying to swim against the current and got washed over there. I tied a harness around him and the man with the husky pulled him up over the wall,” Pat states.

The next task for Pat and Catriona was to reunite the dog with its owner. After scanning his microchip, they found Peter Coote’s name and made contact. Pat admits that the dog was absolutely delighted to see the owner coming, running over to him and jumping up. There was no need for any proof of ownership, Pat quips. “It was a happy ending for both the dog and the owner.” Adding that, “both were as delighted to see one another in the end.”

After being contacted by The Clare Echo, Mr. Coote made the following statement on

‘Significant number’ of Ennis Hospital & UHL staff self-isolating A “SIGNIFICANT number of staff” at Ennis Hospital and University Hospital Limerick are currently off work and self-isolating following recent outbreaks of COVID-19 while a spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group has refused to specify how many people are affected, writes Páraic McMahon.

All routine outpatient appointments and the majority of elective procedures have been cancelled at both UHL and Ennis Hospital today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) as the hospitals manage their response to

the virus.

Patients whose procedure or appointment is affected by the cancellations are being contacted directly by the hospital in advance. Affected patients will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.

One spokesperson told The Clare Echo “significant numbers of staff” are self-isolating and out of work having either tested positive for COVID-19 or been designated as a close contact.

“We have experienced considerable staffing challenges in recent days and just under 50 patients had their proce-

the bravery of all involved and the joy of being reunited with his six-year-old Springer, called Patch.

“He’s our family pet. On the night in question he was frightened by the thunder and lightning on Wednesday 28th. We were searching all night for him and the follow-

ing morning. We were advised by a friend that there was a dog rescued at the post office bridge and the rescue was on Facebook.

When I checked on the post, I was certain it was Patch. We are extremely grateful to Pat Toibin and colleagues for the rescue of our very precious family pet.”

l HAPPY ENDING: Pat Toibin pictured at the site of the rescue in Ennis and (inset) Patch the dog

Photo by Stuart Holly

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY

dures cancelled this Monday, November 9th”.

“The volume of staff currently self-isolating having come into contact with Covid-19 is now such that we are curtailing scheduled care to concentrate resources on emergency presentations and on inpatients. This will also serve to reduce footfall in our hospitals in the coming days,” Prof Brian Lenehan, Chief Clinical Director, UL Hospitals Group stated.

The emergency department at UHL remains open for personnel in need of emergency care.

l BIRTHDAY GIRL: Congratulations to Bridget Geraghty who celebrated her

100th birthday at Ennis Nursing Home. Due to current restrictions, a small social gathering took place outside the nursing home to mark the occasion. A mother of two, Bridget has six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren

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‘A nuisance’ - objections fly in over Quilty mast PÁRAIC MCMAHON

S

paraic@clareecho.ie

TRONG opposition is mounting in Quilty to the proposed construction of a telecommunications mast in the village.

As reported in the previous edition of The Clare Echo, a planned development of a 24m mast has led to the reignition of a local campaign to prevent the construction going ahead.

Five months ago, Clare County Council and An Bord Pleanála refused similar plans but developers have submitted a new application and stressed its importance in facilitating remote working.

Clare County Council’s planning department has been kept busy with the amount of objections lodged in recent days surrounding the application from Cignal Infrastructure Ltd. As of Wednesday morning, 56 submissions had been uploaded to the planning file by

Council officials while one Quilty native told The Clare Echo a total of 115 submissions had been made.

Kilmurry Ibrickane Ladies Football club were among those to object along with local residents.

Visual impact, devaluation of property, proximity to Quilty NS and Pairc Naomh Mhuire have been identified as key points in the submissions.

In its correspondence, the ladies football club stated that parents of underage players “have advised

that they do not want their children playing matches or training at the GAA pitch if the development goes ahead as they do not know the full extent of the impact that the mast would have would have on their and in particular their children’s health”.

A remote worker disputed the argument from the telecommunications company on the benefit of infrastructure to those working from home as they said they “found the that the service already

l OPPOSITION: Quilty village Photo by Ann O’Connell

Roslevan social housing project continues despite setback EIGHT social housing units are to be constructed in Roslevan after concerns from residents and elected representatives were abated, writes Páraic McMahon.

Councillors in the Ennis Municipal District deferred giving the green light to the construction of the eight houses for one month but agreed to the start of works once flagged worries on behalf of residents in the area were dealt with.

Primarily the fact that some of the new units would be looking over already constructed houses caused contention along with the protection of the boundary wall. These sentiments were expressed by both Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) and Cllr Pat Daly (FF).

A planners report was absent when the matter went before the September meeting of the Ennis MD which meant councillors were not satisfied to approve the development at a meeting of the County Council that month.

However, speaking at a recent meeting of Clare County Council, Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) confirmed the matters had been dealt with and all Ennis MD councillors were happy to propose works proceed.

1,100 people are in need of housing in Ennis, senior executive officer with the local authority, Siobhan McNulty outlined. "We are under significant pressure for delivery of housing in the county," she admitted.

Under the Roslevan development, there will be a mix of 2-bed, 3-bed and 4-bed units.

in the area to facilitate this was quite sufficient”.

“Tourism is also very important to the village of Quilty and surrounding areas and we believe that this structure would negatively impact on our landscape as it would be viewable for miles given its location,” one objection noted.

Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) has also added his support to those opposing the plans and made his first submission to a planning application since becoming a county councillor last May. “In my personal opinion, I would go so far as to consider this application to be a nuisance, a drain on the resources of the local authority in the first instance, and the local community in the second. The latter have been called upon again, the second time in a year, to expend significant time, energy and money from their limited resources to take on a large commercial venture at a time where all of those are in short supply due to the affects of COVID-19,” he stated.

A decision from Clare County Council is expected in December.

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Westbrook decision overruled AN BORD Pleanála have overruled Clare County Council regarding the status of Westbrook House and indicated that it does not come within the scope of a hostel, writes Páraic McMahon.

In a referral to the planning authority by the Council, An Bord Pleanála decided that Westbrook House “is development and is not exempted development” whereas in March, Clare County Council issued a declaration stating that the matter is not a material change of use and is exempted development.

Jane Dennehy in her inspectors report noted that An Bord Pleanála “decides that the change of use of Westbrook House from commercial guesthouse to a homeless persons hostel managed by an approved housing body is not a material change of use and therefore is not development”.

Westbrook House functioned as a guesthouse until December of last year and was later acquired by Clare County Council.

It is operated under the current management of Mid-West Simon as a place of residence for homeless persons. It has 15 ensuite bedrooms and is staffed full-time.

964 vacant commercial properties across the county PÁRAIC MCMAHON

A

paraic@clareecho.ie

total of 964 commercial properties are deemed to be vacant across County Clare.

Approximately 64 per cent of the vacant properties (621) in the county have a valuation of less than €2,500.

Head of Finance with Clare County Council, Noeleen Fitzgerald confirmed that over half of the properties are in areas “where there is no significant commercial demand. Vacancy is not a choice by owners in these scenarios”.

Under legislation dating back to 1946, an owner or occupier of a vacant property could “claim a refund of the commercial rates paid where the premises meets specific criteria”.

Refunds in Dublin, Limerick,

l EMPTY: A vacant commercial property in Kilrush

Photo by Páraic McMahon

Cork and Galway varied at 50 per cent with all other local authority areas at 100 per cent.

“The main purpose of the legislation was to prevent distortion of the rental market for commercial lettings,” Fitzgerald explained.

An update to the legislation five years ago provided a reserved function to local authority members to make a decision at the statutory budget meeting to specify a local electoral area or local electoral areas that the relief would apply for the whole of the financial year and to determine the proportion of the refund/relief that shall apply in each case.

To date members of Clare County Council have adopted the rate of 100 per cent at each budget meeting.

Coupled with this, a rates vacancy credit is applied by Clare County Council.

Certain criteria must be met to qualify for this including being vacant on the date rates become payable, becoming vacant for letting or sale, repairs or alterations or if it is pending demolition, redevelopment or de-listing as a commercial property.

“In the current year Clare County Council estimates over

€4.6m in vacant properties across all electoral areas,” the Head of Finance stated.

Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) proposed at a recent local authority meeting that the vacant rates credit be reduced from the current rate of 100 per cent to zero per cent on a three year tiered basis.

He believed such a move would assist in reducing “the long term dereliction rate in our towns and villages and to encourage the regeneration of same”. His motion was seconded by Councillor Bill Chambers (FF).

In response, Ms Fitzgerald outlined, “Implementing a rates charge on some electoral area vacant properties where there is no commercial demand will not provide an income stream to this council as there will be a level of uncollectable debt”.

A scheme is to come before councillors before the draft Budget 2021 aimed at providing a motivation to convert long-term vacant commercial properties.

Future schemes should focus “on regenerative capacity and not just financial,” Murphy maintained.

“We should be looking at how we can promote the carrot and stick,” he felt.

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

'If ever there was a time to buy local it is now' - Garvey PĂ RAIC MCMAHON

A

paraic@clareecho.ie

CLARE member of the Oireachtas has stressed the significance of the Banner public spending locally this festive season.

At a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment debate last month, Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) highlighted the need for a PR strategy promoting residents across the country to shop Irish and detailed the need for available supports for small business to be flagged in a concise manner.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Senator Garvey urged people within the county to consider the benefits of spending locally when purchasing their Christmas presents and referenced Click for Clare as an ideal directory to allow them to do so.

"Consumers have to realise the amount of power they have with the money they spend and where they spend it. If there was ever a time to buy local, it is now. Christmas shopping has already started so we need to spend our money on local businesses. Clare craft workers and small businesses have so much to offer, it is endless the different things people are doing it is so creative, you are not stuck for ideas if you go onto Click for Clare".

She continued, "I want to call on everybody in Clare to really think about where they are spending their money and even if they only divert a fiver or a tenner more a week towards supporting local businesses it would make a huge

NEWS 7

difference and it would prevent job losses. I have been working on promote Buy Irish in the Seanad and I instigated a Lean on Me campaign which enabled shops which didn't have websites to have a buying online option which was very successful. Click for Clare is a great idea and we should all strongly support it".

Inspiration for consumers can be found on Click for Clare via The Clare Echo's website, the Inagh woman stated. "If people want to support local, they can go onto Click for Clare and see where they spend their money before they go buying Christmas presents and they might be inspired by everything that Clare businesses are offering, it's not always easy to know what to buy for whom but if you go onto Click for Clare you will be inspired by a business up the road from you that you might not know about".

Shopping online with big brands may be convenient but it will not support the local economy, Roisin affirmed. "With the 5km restrictions, before we click on Amazon or any of the big guys who don't put any money in any pockets here, you're sending all your money out of the country, you want to focus on a circular economy where you are keeping all your money in Clare so we support our businesses and business owners who work very hard. “We all know how hard self-employed people work and small business owners work to keep their jobs going for their employees, 70 percent of all the jobs in Clare are SMEs and they are the 70 percent of jobs we can influence holding onto. It is a very difficult time because of COVID now and Brexit coming down the road so we really need to support our own".

lCHRISTMAS SHOPPING: Small businesses need local support

086 1043528 roisin.garvey@oireachtas.ie

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Clonlara’s Kathleen named principal of Children’s Ark Pà RAIC MCMAHON

A

paraic@clareecho.ie

CLONLARA woman has been appointed as the new principal at the Children's Ark School at University Hospital

Limerick.

Kathleen Horgan (inset) will now lead the delivery of a high standard education service for children attending University Hospital Limerick for treatment. She joins secondary teacher Olive Dillon and recently appointed primary school teacher Sandra Keehan formerly of Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin on the teaching staff.

She is a former member of the Clare senior camogie panel and was formerly part of the teaching staff at Gaelscoil MhĂ­chĂ­l CĂ­osĂłg in Ennis and Knockanean NS. Kathleen is the daughter of Eddie and Oonagh, both former teachers with Eddie serving as principal of Scoil SeanĂĄin Naofa in Clonlara prior to his retirement.

On her new role, Kathleen stated, "I feel very privileged to begin my journey as principal in The Children's Ark School. “It is such a warm, caring and welcoming school environment, created lovingly by Margaret McCarthy, Mary Carr and Olive Dillon over the past number of years. I am joining a wonderful team here and I am very excited to continue to ensure we provide an outstanding education for every child in our care".

The Children's Ark School is a Department of Education and Skills school for day-patient or in-patient children in UHL aged from 4-19 years. 100MB fibre broadband has recently been installed by the Department of Education to facilitate access to innovative educational supports.

The Ark is composed of a large classroom for primary students, a second classroom for secondary students, and has its own toilets, office space and an outdoor learning area.

Margaret McCarthy

retired as principal on October having served for almost fourteen years, Mary Carr has also bid farewell to her teaching post after twelve years at the Children's Ark. "Our ethos is that no child will be disadvantaged educationally if they have to attend hospital. What I will look back upon most fondly is the overall sense of support, kindness and care from all staff, particularly from the nurses on the Sunshine Ward, which has helped us to focus on the children's education," Margaret said following her departure.

Indeed McCarthy was the last remaining link to the origins of the school, starting out on 4th December 2006. Ennis' Frank Keane served as the second chairperson of the Board of Management.

Current Board of Management chairperson, Dr Siobhan Gallagher and UL Hospitals Group CEO Colette Cowan both paid tribute to Ms McCarthy for her contributions and welcomed their new additions to the staff.

FUN FOR ALL KIDS AT INCLUSIVE PLAY AREA

lINNER CHILD: 15-year-old Lauren McGrath from Askeaton at the newly refurbished Ark Park inclusive play area in the Children’s Ark paediatric unit at University Hospital Limerick with Dr John Twomey, Consultant Paediatrician, University Hospital Limerick

Photo by Brian Arthur

Ennis viewed as Irish language hub PĂ RAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

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ENNIS as seen as a location where students across the country want to come to learn the Irish language.

These comments were expressed by Cllr Mark Nestor (FF) at a sitting of Clare County Council where he also called on the local authority to review and update it’s language scheme.

It has been 10 years since the ‘ScĂŠim Teanga’ was updated, the scheme was originally drawn up by Clare County Council in 2007. A review commenced last year with the appointment of an Irish officer.

Increasing and encouraging the use of Irish in the local authority has been the goal of the ScĂŠim Teanga, Director of Finance and Support Services, Noeleen Fitzgerald noted.

Its key aims include promotion of the Irish language, increasing and improving the number of services provided bilingually and enhancing staff competency in Irish through the provisions of training and support.

She outlined, “Significant progress has been made on signage across the county with the co-operation of all departments.

Staff Irish Language sessions recommenced

also in 2019 and are proving beneficial�. The review will continue into 2021.

Addressing the meeting as Gaeilge, Cllr Nestor acknowledged that the use of the language was more prominent in Ennis than in parts of North and South Clare. He stated that students across the country were attempting to come to Ennis to try learn the language.

The youngest elected representative in the county was of the view that ColĂĄiste Eoghain UĂ­ Chomhraidhe would play a strong part in the plan.

Support for the motion was voiced by Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) with Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) also agreeing that the Carrigaholt Irish College was an important piece of infrastructure, “Irish has been forgotten by a lot of people. I’m looking forward to seeing Irish spoken,� he added.

lGAEILGEOIR: Cllr Mark Nestor

Photo by Eamon Ward

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10 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Clare Echo US Election story goes viral with 9,000 retweets CIAN O’BROIN

T

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

HE Clare Echo caused quite a stir online following the conclusion of the U.S Presidential Election on November 7th. Head of News and Sport Paraic McMahon posted an article to Twitter with the headline 'West Clare hotelier loses out in US Presidential election #Election2020.'

The article (below) details Biden's victory over President Trump's re-election bid and follows closely both men's ties to the Emerald Isle, as well as an exclusive look at the local reaction to the election results. It wasn't long before Paraic's headline was making headlines of its own, both nationally and

internationally. The post received 630,000 impressions and 3,000 retweets.

A number of prominent media and news outlets picked up on the ingenuity of a local angle on perhaps the most prevalent international issue. On the headline, The Sunday World said it had "won the internet." Similar sentiments were expressed by Lovin.ie who said The Clare Echo had, "earned themselves a gold star." Irish news and the Irish Mirror also picked up on the piece, lauding the creativity employed by Paraic McMahon.

Media coverage even extended beyond the border, with The Guardian in the U.K picking up on the headline and adding to the running joke that, "There was speculation the outgoing president might hunker down in Doonbeg to lick his wounds."

Individuals of all shape, size and stature joined in on the fun, with the likes of

Obama's chief speech writer Cody Keenan, Chris O'Dowd, Rubberbandits and Jim Sheridan all pitching their own quote retweets from the post. A number of prominent journalists also joined in on the fun. Peter Vandermeersch said, "how to bring world news to a local level! The Clare Echo is mastering this art!" Newstalk presenter Sinead Ryan pegged that, "all politics is local" and Senior Editor of Time magazine Alex Fitzpatrick also shared The Clare Echo's post, entreating the headline as the best of the day worldwide.

Summing up the whirlwind of media attention, Paraic puts a few words on his own reaction to the media attention on Twitter, "It's been great to put a few smiles on faces all over the world. The headline has certainly been a conversation starter and one we are very proud of "

lLOCAL NEWS: The Clare Echo tweet

West Clare hotelier loses out in US Presidential election PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

lLOCAL LINKS: Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, Doonbeg

Photo by Arthur Ellis

WEST Clare hotelier Donald Trump has lost out in his US Presidential re-election bid.

Democrat Joe Biden won the much-talked about US election to become the 46th President of the United States of America fending off the challenge of Republican Donald Trump.

The 77 year old claimed enough States to pick up the required number of electoral college votes. Winning the Pennsylvania vote allowed Biden build an invincible lead with tallying still ongoing in some States.

Biden becomes the oldest man to win the Presidency while Trump is the first person since George HW Bush to be a one-term President.

Bush lost out to Bill Clinton in the 1992 Presidential Election.

Further history has also been created with the result as Kamala Harris becomes the first woman to take on the role of Vice President.

It means that Mike Pence’s tenure has come to an end, the former Governor of Indiana also has family links to Doonbeg with his great-grandmother hailing from the Long Village.

In a brief statement on Saturday, Biden said he was honoured to have been chosen to lead the country.

“The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans whether you vot-

ed for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me”.

Meanwhile Trump has disputed the call that the election is over as he claimed to have won the election “by a lot”.

Local support for Donald Trump had been voiced in Doonbeg where the Trump family have invested significantly and serve as one of the region’s main employers with over 305 jobs at peak season at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland.

Donald stepped down as a director of the West Clare resort in January 2017 but his children, Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. are still listed as directors of TIGL Ireland Enterprises Ltd and TIGL Ireland Management Ltd, the companies behind Trump International Golf Links.

DoonbegPublican Tommy Tubridy expects tourism in Mayo to receive a boost on the back of Joe Biden’s links with Ballina based on the publicity the Trump and Pence connections brought to the area.

Shopowner, Rita McInerney who has been very vocal in her praise of Trump but not his policies told The Irish Times, “You don’t have to agree with everyone you do business with”.

Hugh McNally of Morrissey’s Bar and Restaurant admitted that there was disappointment in Doonbeg for the Trump family “because they have been such great supporters for us down the years”.

He is confident the soon to be former US President will be in County Clare in the near future but more in a golfing rather than business capacity.

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12 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Airport to share in â‚Ź22m funding PĂ RAIC MCMAHON

S

paraic@clareecho.ie

HANNON Airport is to share â‚Ź22m in funding with Cork Airport as part of a revised â‚Ź80m funding package announced by the Department of Transport on Tuesday in a move Clare politicians have lauded as “a lifelineâ€?.

Under the Regional State Airports Programme, Shannon and Cork Airports will receive an extra â‚Ź22.1m, consisting of â‚Ź15 million in current funding and a further â‚Ź6.5 million in capital funding for 2021. This is on top of the â‚Ź10 million in supports for the two airports announced in the Budget.

Meanwhile, Shannon, Dublin, Cork, Knock, Kerry and Donegal airports will also benefit from a further â‚Ź20 million under the Airport Charges Rebate Scheme. It has also been decided that a study will be undertaken to assess the potential for a rail link from Shannon Airport and Shannon Town to the Ennis to Limerick rail line.

Revisions to the previously allocated figures is due to a very difficult winter season being faced by

the aviation sector. An extra â‚Ź48m in supports will be provided by the Government, in addition to those announced in the Budget.

CEO of Shannon Group, Mary Considine explained that the funding would support airport operation and aviation partners in 2021 in what will be another difficult year for aviation. “Together with the difficult cost containment measures we have had to put in place, the funding we will receive will allow us to navigate our way through this crisis�.

Considine paid tribute to Minister Ryan and Hildegarde Naugh-

ton (FG) and employees at Shannon Airport for their support. “It is important to say that this support will benefit not only the airport, but businesses in this region and along the western seaboard who rely on our airport’s air services for their livelihoods. We look forward to engaging with the Department of Transport on the details of the funding allocation for Shannon�.

Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) has praised the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan (GP) for providing regionally balanced funding which recognises “the emergency� facing the aviation sector. “It is good to

lSUPPORT: Shannon Airport is to get a share of a new funding package

see Shannon receive some supports, people had worried it had been forgotten about�. She said the funding is a step in the right direction, “My hope is Shannon will come back stronger than ever, we will say thank you but we won’t say that is enough and keep asking for more�.Announcement of the funding came on the eve of a private members motion from Independent TDs including Deputy Michael McNamara (IND) over the crisis facing the aviation industry in Ireland. He welcomed the funding but flagged “previous allocations didn’t live up to their billing, hopefully this one will�. He reiterated his call for a State Aviation policy to give regional airports “a fair fighting chance� against a dominant Dublin Airport.

Deputy Joe Carey (FG) described the allocation of funding as “a lifeline� and a move towards restoring connectivity to Shannon and the region. “After several difficult months this, on top of the introduction of the EU ‘traffic light’ system for air travel, makes this a very positive week for Shannon�.

Minister Ryan has agreed with the viewpoint put forward by Senator Garvey that a re-balancing of transatlantic flights into Ireland towards Shannon would result in

three percent less carbon emissions per flight.

Examining the feasibility of a rail link from Shannon was welcomed by the Inagh woman. “It is really positive, they would not be doing that if they were not considering Shannon seriously�. Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF) believed if this materialised, “the potential for Shannon would skyrocket�.

Additional funding has been labelled by Crowe as “hugely significantâ€?. He stated, “This allocation comes on top of the â‚Ź5m capital funding already announced in the Budget, to give the airport a much-needed leg up at a time when it continues to haemorrhage money. This year has been incredibly difficult for many reasons, not least how we have had to watch as our proud and strong aviation sector has been decimated, so this is more than a lifeline now, it’s an absolute necessityâ€?.

The development marks a “welcome support packageâ€? according to Senator Martin Conway (FG) as he pinpointed the â‚Ź3.25m capital fund, â‚Ź7.8m worth of current funding and airport charges rebate.

Emergency funding for Shannon Airport was previously announced by the Irish Government in June.

‘Problem’ trees to be reviewed Lions Club keep members up to date on World Diabetes Day AHEAD of World Diabetes Day, Shannon Lions & District Club have been advising their members on ways to be aware of the metabolic disease, writes PĂĄraic McMahon.

Saturday marks World Diabetes Day (WDD) and over the past few weeks, Shannon District and Lions Club have been reminding their twenty plus members to be aware of the symptoms associated with diabetes.

Members of the club reside in Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Cratloe. Their fundraising efforts have been put on hold all year and

instead they along with other District Clubs around the country are putting the spotlight on diabetes.

November 14th is the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. WDD is the world's largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.

FIVE trees in Shannon will be examined following a request that they be removed.

Citing safety interests, Cllr Pat O'Gorman (FF) called on the Shannon Municipal District to remove five trees on Corrib Drive in front of the grounds of Shannon Town Utd AFC and behind the machinery shed.

As part of the Shannon Municipal District's end of year tree works programme, the matter will be examined, senior executive engineer Aidan O'Rourke confirmed.

Noting that the pathway surrounding the grounds is used by walkers "every morning," Cllr O'Gorman flagged, "there is a bigger problem around trees in Shannon".

lSAFETY: Trees in the background at Lynch Park Photo by Joe Buckley

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NEWS 13

Huge relief as Springfield flood works get green light THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

F

paraic@clareecho.ie

LOOD protection works have been given the go-ahead for Clonlara which has been described as a massive relief by local residents.

On Tuesday, An Bord Pleanála confirmed the long-awaited flood defence works in South-East Clare can progress.

A planning application was submitted by Clare County Council to An Bord Pleanála in July. The scheme which is expected to cost in the region of €1.2m involves the construction of a flood protection embankment, land raising, penstock/sluice, pump station and associated works. Residents are hopeful that the works will begin next year with both March and April identified as potential start dates.

Very severe flooding occurred along the lower River Shannon basin with a particularly severe effect on the houses in Springfield in 2002, 2009, 2015 and in February of this year. The area has previously been described as “a warzone with water” and the devastation caused has resulted in residents being evacuated from their homes.

lTROUBLED WATERS: Springfield residents in Clonlara have been plagued by serious flooding on numerous occassions

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Gerardine Quinlivan who previously described the conditions of living in a flood prone area as “almost inhuman” admitted that the announcement brought with it a huge sense of relief. “We’re delighted that it has got to this stage after all the years of attending meetings and consultations”.

She admitted, “My phone was hopping with phonecalls, text messages and emails

Profits from Walk With Me go to Clare Haven Services STUART HOLLY

editor@clareecho.ie

WALK With Me is a literary journey in poetry, prose, fiction and meditation from Clare-based writers anthologized by the North West Clare Writers’ Circle during the first wave of Covid-19 and published in November 2020.

Comprising over 50 contributions from 30 writers, much of the wonderful poetry and prose is Covid-19 themed and speaks directly to people’s experiences during this tumultuous time in place and history.

The anthology contains award-winning writers such as Donal Minihane, Elizabeth Reapy, Jean Kavanagh, Knute Skinner and Karen J. McDonnell as well as previously unpublished talented writers who are members of writers’ groups in various parts of County Clare. No writer has received a fee for their contribution.

All book sales’ profits are being donated to Clare Haven Services—an organization that supports families affected by domestic violence North West Clare Writers’ Circle (NWCWC) is entirely volunteer-led and was formed in March 2020 as a Zoom group by six North West Clare-based writers including a

creative writing tutor. The group met twice weekly during the spring and early summer lockdown. A body of work emerged of unique perspectives, reflecting upon and mirroring the common experiences of people in this extraordinary historic time that unites the whole world under one threat - Covid-19.

Realizing that there must be other writers’ groups out there producing similar work, the group sent out a call for contributions and conceived a fundraising campaign to publish an anthology of work from this ‘not normal’ period, that would benefit a group in society whose suffering increased even more during lockdown conditions; families affected by that other omnipresent global pandemic, domestic violence.

Author and journalist Rachael English (pictured) who wrote the foreword for Walk With Me says, “It’s a wonderful book for a deeply deserving cause.”

For further information, email n.w.clarewriterscircle@gmail.com.

saying how delighted they were with the positive news particularly at a time when positive news is so scarce.”

Additional work must be completed before the project is up and running, Gerardine flagged. “We do have a bit to go yet in the sense that Clare County Council have to design the embankment and then landowners have to be approached regarding the access while the build is going on and in ad-

dition to that they have to look at the land the embankment is to go on.”

Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) told The Clare Echo that the works will protect the area from the flooding issues that have plagued the community for years.

“I live in close proximity to Clonlara and know many of the homeowners and landowners who have endured so-called ‘once in a lifetime’ flood events on an almost annual basis. It’s been devastating for local residents to see their homes submerged in water and to have to move into hotels for a number of weeks each time. They have waited an awful long time for this,” he stated.

Work must begin this winter, the Meelick native believed to allow Springfield residents to rest easy. He also criticised planning laws and felt a change was required. “The objector to this particular set of works is based in Dublin and his objection hugely held up this much-needed work which I also feel is an unfair situation to be allowed continue.

I have recently called on the government to update planning legislation that would prevent individuals far removed from the problem from causing these often lengthy and stressful delays. You should at a minimum live within a certain distance of the site to register your objections”.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION N19 SHANNON AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD IMPROVEMENT SCHEME Clare County Council is working in partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to develop the planning and design stages for the N19 Shannon Airport Access Road Improvement Scheme. Fehily Timoney & Company and Clandillon Civil Consulting Joint Venture have been appointed as technical consultants for the project.

The project is located on the N19 national primary road between Drumgeely roundabout and Knockbeagh Point roundabout on approach to Shannon International Airport and is approximately 2.2 kilometres in length.

The project is currently at Option Selection stage. The Option Selection process has considered a range of feasible options for assessment within the study area. These options were assessed under three headings, engineering, environment and economy and three preliminary route options have been shortlisted to proceed further in the Option Selection process.

As part of this process, Clare County Council is seeking feedback from the public on the Constraints and Preliminary Route Options developed for the project.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Clare County Council is unable to hold a public consultation event in-person within the local area. Instead, an online public consultation platform has been developed on the project website at www.shannonaccess.ie. This online public consultation experience will allow stakeholders and the general public to view and download the consultation brochure and maps. Feedback on the Constraints and Preliminary Route Options can be made electronically using the Online Questionnaire or by FREEPOST up until Wednesday 2nd of December 2020.

It is understood that online information cannot be accessed by everyone, and notwithstanding the restrictions COVID-19 presents, the project team is keen to engage with people throughout this public consultation. To speak directly with a member of the project team during the public consultation period a phone service will be available on (065) 6866147 between 9am and 4pm.

Feedback and submissions received throughout this public consultation process will be considered by the project team as part of the Option Selection process.

For further information log onto www.shannonaccess.ie or contact the project team at info@shannonaccess.ie or telephone (065) 6866147.

14 Arts & Entertainment

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Coming home to Aughavinna CIAN O’BROIN

C

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

HARLES Monod (fiddle) and Jean-Baptiste "JB" Samzun (concertina) have released a traditional Irish music duet album called Aughavinna. Both men have strong ties to traditional music in Clare.

The duet album, recorded at Charles' house at Aughavinna, features 12 tracks. Charles admits that, "It's been really strange to release the album in the middle of the pandemic and without being able to play and do launches."

JB and Charles first met in the summer of 2017 at a session in Doolin, during which they instantly connected on a musical level. They met regularly for tunes after that, realizing that they enjoyed the same tunes, looked up to the same musicians and simply shared the same love for Irish Traditional Music, and the music from County Clare and East Galway in particular.

Jean-Baptiste comes from a musical family in Brittany and has been visiting Co. Clare since he was a young child.

Charles Monod hails from Switzerland originally but first came to Doolin in 2006 for a summer job and moved permanently in 2010.

They shared a house for a full year in 2018, in Aughavinna, Doolin during which they played, listened and discussed music on a daily basis. As JB's return to Brittany was approaching, they decided to make a recording together.

Jack Talty guided them throughout the process and he suggested that the recording should be made live at their

house.

"Aughavinna" is the result of JB and Charles sharing music together daily for a year, condensed in two days of live recording. They were accompanied by their friends Vincent Fogarty (bouzouki) and Alan Wallace (guitar) on these two days, during which they wanted to pay tribute to the many musicians who have inspired and helped them on their musical journeys.

Aughavinna is available via CD or digital download. Visit www.tunesfromdoolin.com

lIRISH HOME: JB Samzun and Charles Monod fell in love with Irish music

Dyslexia friendly book brings Burren story to life CIAN O’BROIN

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

SHANE Casey has released a new dyslexic-friendly book about the Burren called 'The Calf and the Cuckoo.' All proceeds generated will go towards the local educational charity of Burrenbeo Trust.

Mr. Casey explores the unique farming heritage of the Burren, shaped through the first-hand experience of a local farmer.

Shane draws inspiration from his own knowledge of the Burren, having grown up on his family's farm in Fanore, Co. Clare. It is here that the story is set, between Blackhead mountain and the Caher valley.

The story begins at Blackhead, when Sarah, a young shorthorn calf, is born.

Shortly after, she moves across to the Caher Valley where she has a chance encounter with a cuckoo. The cuckoo, Colin, has come all the way from Southern Africa to see the Burren flowers at Blackhead. But Sarah has never heard of them.

On the parallels between Shane's world and that of his new novel, he posits, "'Sarah's farmer plays a secondary character in the story, but we find out in the end that his role is the most important for safeguarding the Burren as we know it.

His way of life is shared by farmers across the Burren, including my own family.

And there are parts of the story that many farmers will relate to, that may-

be others have never experienced, such as the sweet smell when you open up a good bale of hay."

The Calf and the Cuckoo contains a dyslexic-friendly design and layout. illustrated by renowned wildlife artist Gordon D'Arcy, Shane alludes to a number of small changes that have facilitated this dyslexic friendly design.

"We use a combination of special dyslexia font, colour schemes, and layout to make it easier for children with dyslexia to read," he states.

Adding, "Little things, like avoiding a double space after a full stop, prevents white lightening on the page.

“Or left-aligning the text instead of justifying it, makes it easier to see where the sentence ends and is less daunting for a young reader than a block of text."

Pick up a copy of The Calf and the Cuckoo for €14 on Burrenbeo.com.

lTELL TALE: The cover of Shane Casey’s new book

glór in Cahoots to bring learning and fun to families BELFAST based theatre company Cahoots NI have created a fun filled immersive theatrical experience, available to stream directly to your own home.

In this ambitious and unique undertaking, Cahoots NI, the makers of Under the Hawthorn Tree, Secrets of Space, Shh! We have a Plan and more, will broadcast from an extensive, purpose built set where magic and illusion have no boundaries.

The University of Wonder & Imagination is now enrolling students of all ages and

magical abilities…and there’s a place with your name on it!This fun, interactive experience is suitable for all the family to enjoy via the magic of digital technology. Assemble with your fellow students and journey to the most unusual of universities, where the mysterious Professor Bamberg will send you off on a self-navigated quest where nothing is quite as it seems.

You will interact with the liveliest of lecturers, choose your subjects of study, enter themed rooms and encounter all kinds

of problems and puzzles, unlocking your magical powers as you go. You’re bound to leave this hallowed centre of magical learning with your mind boggled and your brain bamboozled, but do you have what it takes to graduate from the University of Wonder & Imagination?

This brand new type of event is directed by you, the audience. The choices you’ll make live, during the event, will shape your unique experience.

Cahoots NI tours to ever-growing au-

diences at home and across the world and their work is acclaimed in Ireland, the UK, Asia, America and has been enjoyed in theatres, schools and healthcare settings.

Cahoots NI is organised by glór and will stream on Saturday 14 November. Shows start at 11am and continue throughout the day. Tickets €12 per family/device. Best suited for age 7+ https://glor.ie/events/cahoots-ni-presents-the-university-of-wonder-imagination/

FEATURES 15

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

GREEN CLARE

Be informed with Waste Awareness Week CIAN O’BROIN

A

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

N AWARENESS week to provide information and tips that will help the Banner County reduce its waste production will take place from 16th to 20th November, 2020.

Clare Waste Awareness Week is a five-day virtual event organised by Clare County Council, in association with the Southern Regional Waste Management Planning Office, to highlight the role of the county’s five civic amenities, inform citizens on what they can do to correctly dispose of their waste and provide up-to-date information on reusing, reducing and recycling.

Through a series of online videos, a social media campaign, workshops and leaflets, Clare County Council will provide information, tips and fun facts each day, relating to different topics of interest or concern.

Monday, 16th November, will be dedicated to information relating to greener cleaning and household hazardous waste. In 2019, as much as 65 tonnes of paint and 30 tonnes of waste mineral oils and filters were collected at civic amenity sites in Clare.

Mindful that more than 156 tonnes of textiles are discarded in County Clare every year, Tuesday, 17th November, will be dedicated to reuse of textiles.

Wednesday, 18th November, will have food waste as its focus. Last year, there was a 10 per cent reduction in the amount of household residual waste collected when compared to 2016, with a 15 per cent increase in the amount of organic waste collected. However, just 75 per cent of households with a three-bin service regularly use their brown bin.

Thursday, 19th November, will provide information on recycling in Clare and Friday, 20th November, will highlight the services available at Clare’s five civic amenity sites.

There has been a 10 per cent decrease in the amount of waste going to landfill in Clare in the three-year period between 2016 and 2019 and, while this figure is moving in the right direction, Clare County Council believes there is still room for improvement.

Clare County Council Director of Physical Development, Carmel Kirby, explained that Clare Waste Awareness Week is not just about highlighting what householders are doing to minimise their waste, but will also outline areas for improvement and offer advice on how best to achieve these goals.

Ms Kirby said: “More than 70 per cent of households in Clare avail of a waste collection service, a 7 per cent increase in the three-year period, 2016-2019. “Unlike many other counties, almost all householders with a collection service, as many as 99 per cent, have a three-bin sys-

tem, yet only 75 per cent of those households present their brown bin regularly for collection.�

Ms Kirby added: “There is no doubt that, since the introduction of the Regional Waste Management Plan 2015, the rates of recycling and waste segregation in Clare have improved significantly, but we still have a way to go if we are to reach EU recycling targets..�

Karen Foley, Environmental Awareness Officer with Clare County Council, is also encouraged by people’s willingness to learn more and do more when it comes to reduce, reuse and recycle. “Even since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have observed some changes in the county’s recycling patterns. Clare County Council, for example, has recorded a 25 per cent increase in the amount of glass collected so far this year, with the local authority’s 50 bring banks already exceeding last year’s glass collection of 2,581 tonnes�

Ms Foley added: “During Clare Waste Awareness Week we will encourage people to improve their waste management even further through some clear advice and easyto-follow tips. “Waste Awareness Week in Clare will help people become more aware of the civic amenities and services available in the coun-

ty and how best to avail of them, as well as encouraging people to be more conscious of their responsibilities.�

Launching Clare Waste Awareness Week, the Mayor of Clare, Cllr Mary Howard, said: “I urge everyone to join this virtual event and follow Clare County Council and Greener Clare on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all the content and highlights associated with Waste Awareness Week.

These platforms, along with mywaste.ie, will continue to be a resource for the people of Clare, helping them to stay informed about the county’s waste management plans and our progression in this area, long after this week’s events are over.�

Phillipa King, Regional Waste Coordinator, Southern Regional Waste Management Planning Office, explained that events like Waste Awareness Week play a key role as the region prepares for the next Waste Management Plan. “The Regional Waste Management Plans efficiently and collectively represent and protect the obligations of the local authority sector under the Waste Management Act. The Regional Waste Management Offices ensure the three headline targets of the plans are met: 1 per cent reduction in the quantity of household waste per annum; a recycling target of 50 per cent for municipal waste;

lPLANET FRIENDLY: Clare Waste Awareness week begins on November 16

and reduce to 0 per cent direct disposal of residual waste to landfill.�

Clare Waste Awareness Week takes place from 16th to 20th November, 2020. Further information is available on clarecoco.ie.

Further enquiries in relation to events and information relating to Clare Waste Awareness Week can be directed to greenerclare@ clarecoco.ie or 065-6846331.

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16 FEATURES

Change for good RONAN SCULLY

Thought for the week

M

we wish to manifest in our lives AHATMA Gandhi believed begins as an imagining in our minds and hearts. Creativity begins that we ourwith a simple idea, and then we selves must be use our imagination to expand that the change we idea into a vision of possibility. We want to see in give life and energy to the vision the world. This was well demonby adding details and richness and strated when he helped India gain depth to our imagining. We then its independence.

Gandhi was a revolutionary man, begin to imagine how to bring that vision into reality. Of course, we but he accomplished India's emercan also use our imagination to gence as a nation without starting create misery for ourselves if the a revolution. In fact, he advocatvision we hold is one of lack of love ed no violence. One of the most or limitation of goodness. Part of powerful countries in the world our spiritual journey with our God yielded to the commitment of one is to develop self-awareness as to man and the dream of millions.

What change can we effect? What's which thoughts we are holding in our heart, soul and mind. the difference we want to make As we grow spiritually and in the world? In order for things prayerfully, we learn to choose to change, 'you', yourself have to change. We can't change others; we thoughts that are nurturing, loving, can only change ourselves. Howev- caring, compassionate, merciful er, when we change for the good, it and sustaining. We learn to be intentional about where we use the changes everything. And in doing power of our imagination. “Come so, we truly can be the change we with me, and you’ll be in a world want to see in the world. of pure imagination. Living there, Everyone thinks of changing you’ll be free if you truly wish to the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.The problems be.” Imagination is necessary to dream. Dreams are necessary to facing the world today are great, form goals. Goals are necessary to and it will surely take the greatmake change. And if we want to ness of millions if not billions of build a world better than the one people working together towards a we have today, change will be neccommon goal to overcome them. essary, even when it’s not easy.

Changing the world does not hapSo, being in a world of pure pen overnight, but it won't happen imagination is a good place to be by not making some sort of an effort either. The time to act is now, sometime and it can be a necessary place to be sometimes if we want and our role is just as important as something to become a reality. the next person's. While we might Together, we can dream up better think the little good and life giving days, better ways of relating to things we can do are insignificant each other, better ways of being in and have no effect, with enough harmony with the circle of life we people these small things add up are a part of, better ways to see the and make an even bigger change world. Together, we can make that than any single organization or imagination for goodness a reality. person could ever do!

To be the change we want to see in It all starts with us, and our the world,we don’t have to be loud. willingness to help create the We don’t have to be eloquent or be world that we imagine or dream elected.We don’t even have to be of. Prayer and Imagination can particularly smart or well educatbe a special force in your life if ed. We do, however, have to be you let it guide you. There’s an old song from the 1970’s movie "Willie committed.

We live in peculiar times. More Wonka and the Chocolate Factocommunications devices than ever ry" that I have been playing a lot lately. The song is all about how we before connect us, yet more people live alone. We want to belong to use our imagination to create our communities but our cities can be experience: “If you want to view very lonely places. We buy things paradise simply look around and – more and more things – with view it. Anything you want to do more and more money; but they – do it. Want to change the world? don’t make us happy. Life satisfacThere’s nothing to it.” Bet your tion was higher during post-war singing it now in your head! rationing in the 1940's. The rich are getting richer, but nearly 10% of Imagination and Prayer Irish people are shockingly poor.

Some people including myself The other 90% experience other view the imagination as one of kinds of poverty: most of us feel our most powerful spiritual and that our lives are missing someprayerful gifts. It is through our thing. Membership in political imagination that we participate in parties and unions continues to decreating the universe. Everything

cline, yet tens of thousands of Irish people take to the streets at times to protest the various wars happening in our world and Irish people continue to raise millions of euros even during this strange time of the Coronavirus for many charities and good causes in need.

We feel things very deeply and we want to do something, but sometimes the scale of the issues makes it difficult for us – how can I make a difference? What can I do?

How can I be the change? Nothing I do will make a difference anyway and on we go.

Thought for the week

As you’re thought for the week “be the change for good you wish to see in your world” and keep trying to live it each and every day for the betterment of our world. So, when you wake up and decide you want to change the world today, I have one piece of advice: Do something! I promise, it feels good! Love what you have, accept what you receive, give what you can, forgive what you can't, change for good what you can and bless what you see. Be the source of Light because the Light in you is what the Universe longs to behold.

May God and the Angels bless you and everyone now and always.

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always understand. May the pain you have known and conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism.

Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone. May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace, compassion and love. May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile, a cuddly hug be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending. Teach love to those who know hatred, bitterness and pain and let that love embrace you as you go into the world. May the teaching of those you admire become part of you, so that you may call upon them. Pray always for your good and the good of others. Remember, those whose lives you have touched and who have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished. It is the content of the encounter that is more important than its form. May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time each day to see the beauty and love in the world around you. Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way.

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Coole Music School keep the tunes going TADHG HOLLAND

C

news@clareecho.ie

OOLE Music, a not-for-profit music school in Gort Co. Galway has managed to continue spreading the joy of music despite having to cancel all face to face lessons.

The school now has music lessons for its 200 members over Zoom as well as virtual practices for it’s five orchestras, wind ensemble and choir. “[Music] is obviously very important” said Coole Music founder Katharina Baker, “People were actually delighted that we found a way to continue. I have to say I feel so lucky with the families that are involved in Coole Music that have been so positive and engaging in any way they could.

"All the families know how vital it is for their children to have this in their lives especially at a time like this.”

However, despite how well Coole Music have overcome the challenges presented by Covid-19 Katharina stressed how music schools haven’t received enough support from the government: “The government have made an effort to support the arts but music schools have been completely neglected” she said.

“I’ve been in contact with about a 120 music schools around Ireland during this time and there has been so much confusion and just lack of clarity from the government, and also lack of support” For now, Coole Music has turned their attention to the Carpe Diem sing and play challenge. In a normal years Coole Music hosts a ‘Carpe Diem’ concert in memory of Eimear Noonan, a former member of the Coole Music youth orchestra who died tragically in France in 2017.

"This event would raise funds for the Eimear Noonan Bursary, a music scholarship in Eimear’s honour but because of the pandemic plans for this year’s concert had to be scrapped.

In its place is an online challenge in which people post a video of themselves playing an instrument and then donate to the cause. The event began on the 1st of November and will run until the 15th but it has already raised over 80 per cent of it’s fundraising goal.

This virtual event will certainly pre-occupy the Coole Music for now but it’s clear all the students and teachers are dying to get back to in person lessons with Katharina saying, “We are all very much looking forward to getting back to the real thing”.

l COOL: Coole Music founder Katharina Baker

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Community KILKEE POST A SELFIE FOR FREE

THE humble postcard had become an endangered commodity but a small fledgling business based in Kilkee has found a way to marry the powerful smartphone and the humble postcard with its clever PostASelfie App. Now PostASelfie want to help keep people connected and bring a smile to people in Nursing Homes by offering their service free until the end of the Level 5 Restrictions. The postcards are covered with a wipabale laminate so they can be easily wiped down on arrival for extra safety.

The PostASelfie App is available free to download from Google Play or the Apple App store. It allows users to easily create and share cherished moments, with just a few clicks, straight from their phone in a process lasting just a few seconds. Simply write the word FREEPOST | NURSING HOME above the address of the nursing home or residential facility. It is imperative to include this in order to ensure delivery. Then swipe left to bypass the payment system and enter

the voucher code: withlove (all lower case) "We came up with the idea of a simple-touse app which combines the magic of a personal photograph with the enduring delight that people get when they receive a postcard from a friend, loved one or neighbour," said Adrian McCusker, Founder of PostASelfie “we know how special it is for people in Nursing homes to receive a postcard so we want to do our bit to help families to stay connected and send love” In a post Covid-19 world, Adrian hopes that the App will continue to transform cherished photographs into personalised postcards.

“There are so many magical moments that we capture with our smartphones but these pictures rarely ever see the light of day.” He said “ Over the last few months families have created some beautiful ‘Missing You’ cards for grandparents. We have also noticed quite a few postcards going abroad. We even had a Postcard sent from Boston to a person in Singapore!”

KILRUSH Kilrush RNLI lifeboat launched at 11.30am on Sunday, 8 November to a report of a capsized catamaran drifting near Corlis Point on the Shannon Estuary.

Kilrush RNLI volunteers were requested by Valentia Coast Guard, in favourable conditions, to Corlis Point on the County Clare shore of the Shannon Estuary. The casualty vessel, a five metre sailing catamaran, was located within minutes. Due to technical issues, the two occupants were unable to right the vessel and were drifting with the tide.

The occupants were unharmed and the crew of Kilrush RNLI assisted in righting, and escorted the vessel back to Poulnasherry Bay, where they originally launched. Kilrush RNLI were stood down and returned to station at 1pm.

As the current COVID-19 restrictions continue to apply, Kilrush RNLI remain ready to launch should they be required. On Wednesday 4 November 2020, Kilrush RNLI

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NEWSDESK 065 671 9021 news@clareecho.ie

KILMIHIL

lSAY CHEESE: PostASelfie founder Adrian McCusker

RNLI RESCUE

COMMUNITY 17

responded to a report that a speedboat was drifting between Glin and Tarbert on the Shannon Estuary and was a danger to navigation. Kilrush RNLI located and towed the vessel, which had no occupants, to Tarbert Island.

Charlie Glynn, Kilrush RNLI Helm said: 'During COVID-19 restrictions Kilrush RNLI's readiness to launch has not changed and continue to be fully operational and on call 24/7. Our two main priorities are the wellbeing of our volunteers and maintaining our lifesaving service. We want everyone to enjoy their time on the water while staying safe. Before you head out on the water make sure you are prepared and have checked the weather conditions, wear a lifejacket and make sure you have a means of calling for help should you need it. We urge anyone who sees somebody in trouble in the water or along the coast to use VHF Ch 16 or Dial 112 (or 999) and ask for the Coast Guard.'

ANNA MARIE WINS SCHOLARSHIP

LAST week, Dr Martin Naughton and his wife Carmel announced the winners of the 2020 Naughton Foundation Scholarship Awards.

Kilmihil student, Anna Marie Meaney was awarded a scholarship worth €20,000.

Supporting academic and innovative excellence in Irish students, this Scholarship Award is an investment in the future of Ireland’s reputation as a country with outstanding graduates. A former student of St. Michael’s Community College, Kilmihil, Anna Marie has accepted a place at National University of Ireland, Galway, studying Biomedical Science. Anna Marie joins 35 exceptional Irish students who were awarded third level scholarships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, science, technology and maths.

Since its establishment in 2008 scholarships worth over €4million have been awarded to over 300 students. The scheme started in three counties and has continued to expand annually to become a nationwide scheme in 2016. There is one guaranteed Scholarship (€20,000) for each participating county, with some counties awarded more than one Scholarship. Each Scholarship is worth €5,000 per annum for each year of a student’s three or four year undergraduate degree. Traditionally the awards are presented by founding patrons of The Naughton Foundation, Dr Martin Naughton and his wife Carmel at a ceremony with the students’ schools and families in attendance but as a result of current restrictions this event was deferred for this year.

More than 200 schools have also benefited from this prize to date with some schools receiving it on more than one occasion.

Anna Marie’s former secondary school, St. Michael’s Community College, Kilmihil received a prize of €1,000 towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of these students. Last year’s winner was Caitríona Ní Riordáin from Colaiste Mhuire, Ennis.

Speaking about the growth of the programme over the past twelve years, Dr. Martin Naughton commented: “We have been awarding scholarships to encourage and reward students for their undergraduate studies in the STEM area since 2008. After the difficult academic year that 2020 was, we are particularly delighted to announce this year’s scholarship winners and their schools. We are both really looking forward to celebrating with them in person next year and welcoming them to our community of

over 300 Scholars and Alumni.”

The Naughton Foundation is also continuing to invest further in ‘Science in a Box’.

The program runs for sixth class pupils for a number of weeks during the primary school year with PhD students spending one hour each week co-teaching with the class teacher, a specific aspect of the science curriculum. For 2020, The Naughton Foundation is delighted to continue its support of this program for 30 sixth classes in the Dublin, Meath and Louth region.

The Foundation is also continuing its support of ESB Science Blast, a program run by the RDS which brings primary school classes from all over Ireland together in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast to display and discuss their science projects.

Midland Science is an organisation which promotes STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] education and skills in the midlands region. It provides activities and workshops all year round through an outreach programme to primary and secondary schools, a regional Science Festival during national Science Week, activities during Engineers Week, Maths Week, Tech Week, STEAM activities, summer science activities in local youth clubs and special projects. The Foundation is delighted to continue its support of Midland Science in 2021.

lACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Naughton Scholarsip winner Anna Marie Meaney

ENNIS CLARE ROOTS SOCIETY

THE Nono shop and printing business was a well-known enterprise on O’Connell Street for almost a hundred years. Charlie Nono retired to his hometown of Ennis in 1992 and shared with Ghislaine De Regge the stories of his grandfather. Charles Nono, a Belgian, whose father had been a grenadier in Napoleon’s army, came to County Clare, Ireland in 1859 to take up the positions of organist and professor of music. This entrepreneurial musician and his Irish-born wife had ten children, who from childhood displayed their musical and acting talents on the Ennis stage. Their concerts were duly reviewed in the local paper published by their father.

Ghislaine, in turn, researched the Irish and Flemish branches of the Nono family. The

accomplishments of the featured Nono’s from five generations are presented here in their historical and economic contexts. From early childhood, the ten little Nono’s displayed their musical and theatrical talents in Ennis before moving on to more prestigious venues. There was an opera singer at the Old Vic, a countess de Banville, a composer of Irish songs, a dancer, an athlete, and the wife of an Indian Medicine man.

Ghislaine is currently on the Faculty of University of Texas at Austin, Germanic Languages, where she completed her Ph.D. Thursday, 19 November 2020, 8pm.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/84205532847?pwd=eDRxdzkrdExKY1dJbzd5TysvSHRzUT09

18 COLUMNIST

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Eoin Neylon With

An inside look at Clare’s political spectrum

With With

In this week’s column, Newmarket-on-Fergus farmer Joe Melody shares his thoughts on divisive farming politics

A

MERICAN politics has been in the spotlight of the world this past week, it is a divisive area but so too is farming politics.

The past week has brought a huge shift in politics with it now seeming certain that Joe Biden will be the 46th president of America come January.

One would hope that “sleepy Joeâ€? as Trump would call him wont be so sleepy in sitting down at the negotiating table to try and reduce the Tariffs on Irish food products that are costing us â‚Ź40 million a year, all these Tariffs emanating from a row over the EU heavily subsidising Airbus.

I would hope what would come out of this presidency is a renewal of the strong ties that bind us as nations and that while Tariffs on trade may be an effective bargaining tool in the short term, over the long term it damages trade and good will between trading blocks.

America appears to be going into a period of transition in relation to who resides in the White House so too are most farmyards around the county with most farmers now housing some if not all of their cattle.

This week at home we moved to housing the milking herd full-time as we have now reached our target of grazing off 100 per cent of the platform, we have a very high demand from the end of January on for grass as a high proportion of our herd will calve in the first few weeks of February so we need to have a lot of that grass grown in the month of October alone.

This spring grass is worth 16 cents per kg of dry matter so it is essential to have lots

of it available to freshly calved cows rather than having to feed too much supplemental concentrate feed costing around 25 cents per kg dry matter.

We are just finishing up the construction of a new holding yard for the dairy herd that also doubles up as a buffer feed area giving us extra feed spaces.

We dried off some of our first calved cows also and they have gone to our outside farm that has paddocks that were cut for silage in early August which we then leave closed off to build up a good cover of grass that hopefully will allow us to keep the in calf heifers out along with 45 of these dry cows grazing until Christmas. This system is weather dependant though but when it works it can lead to a big reduction in costs and labour around the yard.

The past few months leading up to the elections in the US have often been divisive with the identity politics of the left and at times Trump’s language. This has got me thinking about how divisive farming politics has become. There was a time when there was overall unity of cause within the industry as to what we needed to achieve to get a desirable outcome at policy level for our industry. In the past few years there has been a splintering of our lobby, which historically has been among the most effective at influencing future government policy.

Our challenge going forward in farm politics is not dis-similar to that of the next occupants of the White House, It is to be unified and break the narrative of pitting farmer against farmer as has happened in the recent past. Those agitators of division have no place in farm politics.

‘Covered in mud’

W

HEN the book is written on the career of Leo Varadkar the chapter concerning the 2020 vote of no confidence in him will be a central one.

Not because the vote itself was a seminal one, not because it was a defining one for the coalition, nor that the vote itself was of any great significance. It was none of these things. Without any more evidence or details, the sharing of the new GP contract, over a week after it had been signed off by the Government and the IMO, with the NAGP was in no way illegal. That is the key point.

However, the way it was shared was, arguably, unethical and this is where the consequences of this affair may be interesting. The most telling part of the story though is the relationship between Varakdar and Dr. Ă“ Tuathail. The latter painted himself out as a bosom buddy of the then Taoiseach, able to know his inner thoughts and convey same to those he was trying to impress. In the world of politics, those attempting to falsely portray themselves as at the heart of some inner circle is far too common.

People at all levels of politics are constantly overstating their own position in order to further their own image and agenda. The very definition of “fake it ‘til you make it�.

In Leo’s case though, he invited this on himself. His is the politics of spin, predominately, so it’s no wonder that he attracts those more interested in image rather than substance.Let’s get one thing straight, the two did know each other and had chats on many occasions. However,

that does not make people close in politics. However, it does beg the question, in a country as small as ours, at what point do social gathering end and does political lobbying begin. We, as a people, have a rare level of access to our politicians.

Does that mean every encounter between people is part of a sinister agenda, as the Village Magazine article seemingly portrayed? For instance, one of the key pieces of ‘evidence’ they used to back up the story of how close Ă“ Tuathail and Varadkar were, is a picture of the two at Dublin Pride. Anyone who has ever been to Dublin Pride knows that any member of the public can approach any politicians during the festivities.

For the past three Dublin Pride’s in a row, Simon Harris and I have shared an amicable conversation. This does not make us friends. This leads me to discuss other discussion point from this saga: the standards of journalism on show.

It is true that the sharing of the contract through informal channels was a legitimate scoop of a story. Nevertheless, the narrative the Village attempted to create around it, along with the seemingly false accusations of law breaking, led the piece away from journalistic ethics and straight into smear territory.

The article, for me, was akin to the toxic rhetoric one sees day to day on Twitter. Trumpian division politics come to Ireland in a rotten fashion.

The following article from the Village with further ‘evidence’ was a farce. Easily disproven nonsense that, had the author done their research, they would have known better than to print.

Instead, it is evident that

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ď ŹWINTER READY: Some of the Melody herd will graze until Christmas while udders have been housed for winter

Dear Sir, The Spanish flu killed an estimated 60 million globally in the years 1918/19.

At a time when the world population was under 2 billion. At the time of writing the death toll was 1.3million out of a population of 7.5billion from Covid 19. (World Health Organisation.) Both viruses are invisible. It goes to show what progress has been made in science in 100 years.

Thankfully for the mass communication, and access to hygiene products we are able to vastly re-

duce the effect on us humans. There is no doubt that here in the western world our economy is significantly affected. While a large number of our population will feel the effect financially and many will go into poverty. While others a smaller percentage will become richer and even become billionaires.

For us in Ireland as an Island, we should and could keep the virus out of Ireland by significant testing at airports and seaports.

Be strict with the quarantine rules as people come in to Ireland both north

the magazine wanted so badly to ‘get’ Varadkar, that it didn’t bother to fact check the information it was receiving from its ‘whistle blower’, Chay Bowes. Funnily enough, their first article freely admits Mr. Bowes had an axe to grind with Varadkar’s Government from the loss of state contracts and a subsequent failed business venture. Hardly an impartial source. Tellingly, no other major media outlet ran the story, but merely ran reaction pieces to the unfolding controversy.

Cut to Tuesday evenings scenes in the DĂĄil and the real issue I have with the whole story. The Sinn FĂŠin motion of no confidence was a spectacle from which almost no one came out looking well.

Fianna FĂĄil and the Greens were forced into accepting the alleged unethical behaviour of Varadkar, Fine Gael themselves were resolute in their defence of the indefensible, but equally SF were guilty of hypocrisy and wasting DĂĄil time.

Labour’s Aodhån Ó Ríordåin put it best that SF trying to paint themselves as some form a moral guardian was laughable, when, in recent weeks, they were found to have illegally kept tens of thousands of pounds of Covid business supports in their own accounts for months until they got caught. Not to mention their admission to being a British political party, at least when it comes to fundraising laws. SF choosing to be British so that it could keep £4 million gifted to them and circumvent Irish fundraising laws. You literally couldn’t make it up. Politics is a dirty game. But this week, everyone is covered in mud. And most people simply didn’t care.

and south. I know it's not easy but if we are to defeat this, we have to implement these harsh rules.

Yes, lockdown is very hard and lonely for the most part. The numbers it has affected have not dropped below 20 per day yet. We have a long way to go and each one of us need to do our very best to keep this virus at bay. Despite the good news that Pfizer has trialled a suitable vaccine but it will be 12 months or more before it is ready for mass injection.

Yours, Dermot Hayes, Ennis

COLUMNIST 19

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

LITTLE MINCEMEAT SECRET Kearney Cooks

E

VERY year I make my own mincemeat, mincepies, puddings and cakes for Christmas. They make great gifts and look fantastic as part of a hamper.

Plus people think your brilliant for going to all the extra effort.

Now, I am going to let ye in on a little secret. Making mincemeat for your mincepies is not that hard at all.

People just get freaked out by the list of ingredients.

Really, the hard bit is assembling your produce, because in effect, all you’re doing is putting everything in together into a pot for a while until it has all come together. Thats literally my method.

Step 1 Horse all your ingredients into the slow cooker ( or pot on a low temp) Step 2 Have a nice cuppa and maybe do a few jobs around the house.

Step 3 After an hour give your ingredients a stir and tip them into sterilised jars (seal them straight away) Step 4 Leave your jars into a dark press for a few weeks to let the flavours

mature.

Step 5 Another Cuppa anyone?

In December I will use this mincemeat to make yummy mince pies and mincemeat turnovers, which i will include in this column.

Happy November

Steve K

For this recipe you will need • • • • • • • • • • •

R

ebecca O’Neill

200g raisins 200g currants 200g sultanas 200g mixed peel 40g flaked almonds Zest and juice of 1 Lemon and 1 Orange 1 tsp mixed spice 2 apples, peeled cored and chopped finely 200g grated veg suet.

140g brown sugar 60 ml brandy (or more. It’s fine. Honestly)

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My makeup must haves

F

This week, Miss Clare Rebecca O'Neill takes us inside her make-up bag and outlines her five key essentials

OR a lot of people, makeup is a large confidence boost to help people get out of their house.

It can initially determine anyone’s day, depending on their mood and how they feel while wearing it.

A wide range of people cannot leave the house without having that key staple in their make-up bag.

My self confidence definitely increases when it comes to make-up. I want to talk about my top five must haves that are affordable, even maybe something to think about to treat yourself for Christmas.

1 - Foundation: My favourite foundation that I almost could not live without is Maybelline 24hour Super stay. This foundation is so light on the skin making you feel like you have nothing on your face!

While ensuring you that it stays on your face all day long. Considering the masks we wear, this is most certainly essential and so affordable. It can usually be found in a pharmacy near you.

2 - Concealer: This product I have used for the past year and a half and I can’t seem to budge from it! It is called the Milani Conceal + Perfect longwear concealer.

This concealer is sure to hide dark circles, under eye bags and blemishes which is very handy when you get little sleep. This product can be bought on Beauty Bay online. Another concealer that has the same benefits is Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, which can also be found in your local pharmacy.

3 - Mascara: Definitely for some, mascara is a must have. As it applies colour to your lashes and makes them visually look longer, this can give an illusion of your eyes looking more awake and bright. My favourite product for this would have to be the Benefit Bad Gal Bang volumising mascara. This would be a perfect treat for Christmas and can be found on Boots’ website.

4 - Highlighter: Inglot Jennifer Lopez collection in the shade “livin the highlight” is my favourite to highlight the high points on the face, while leaving a youthful and dewy glow. The best thing about this, is that

you don’t just have to use it on the face.

You can also use it on your eyes and body.

Giving you that healthy and dewy skin we always love. This product can be shopped on the Inglot website.

5 - Bronzer: There are a lot of different products that you could use to bronze your face. Also considering your skin tone and your favourite shade of bronzer. My favourite is the Mac Bronzing Powder. I use this to contour my cheekbones, forehead and nose to warm up the tones on my face. Maybelline Bronzing Powder is another amazing and very affordable product that can be found in your local pharmacy.

A self confidence quote from Mandy Hale is one I like and one to associate with this week’s column.

“Confidence is the ability to feel beautiful without needing someone to tell you”.

20 CLICK FOR CLARE

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

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CHOCOLATE DREAMS LIVE ON IN EAST CLARE STUART HOLLY

T

editor@clareecho.ie

T W E N T Y THREE years into their confectionery journey, Wilde Irish Chocolate could have been forgiven for believing their dreams were melting away with the arrival of Covid-19.

Producers of more than 70 flavours of luxury, handmade chocolate products, their business model had become intrinsically linked to the local tourism industry. Open to chocolate factory tours in East Clare, they also sell their product to tourist and independent retailers around the country. However with the advent of two lockdowns and strict travel restrictions, their target market has physically disappeared in one fell swoop. With their factory shop in Tuamgraney along with stores in Doolin and Dingle forced to close their doors, 2020 was shaping up to be a year of uncertainty and retreat. Owners Con and Patricia Farrell had just secured a bank loan and reinvested money to increase their capacity in early spring. With support from Local Enterprise Office Clare and the Clare Local Development Company, they decided to persevere with their plans despite the year that lay in wait.

Having tripled the size of their facility to 3,000sq ft, Wilde Irish Chocolate proudly opened its hot

chocolate café on site in October before disaster struck again and Level 5 restrictions came into place. But the pair refused to raise the white flag and Patricia tells The Clare Echo that Wilde Irish Chocolate will soon prosper again after learning from what she describes as the “Covid silver linings”.

A self-confessed chocoholic, Patricia says the pair set up the business originally out of their mutual love for chocolate. That passion remains evident 23 years later as they adjust to the everchanging economy of pandemic living.

One of those silver linings, maintains Patricia, is the 500 per cent increase in online sales. The other is the outpouring of support from Irish retailers and customers that has been evident since the first lockdown happened in March.

“Tourist retail has suffered appallingly and there are literally no orders from there,” explains Patricia.

“But since October, retailers that never came to us before are ringing us now saying we’ve got to get Irish products because everyone is asking for local stuff and handmade stuff, and they’re really interested in getting that kind of product into their shops. So we have had multiple inquiries from Irish independent retailers around the country saying we want to get Irish product in here. Businesses are also looking to reward their staff or customers with Irish product that’s handmade locally, especially small business because they really

realise that if we don’t support our small businesses they won’t be there. So there has been a massive change.

“Online as well, has just exploded. We’ve had a website for years and years and it tips away but since the first lockdown it’s gone bananas.

So Covid has made us look at what are the opportunities for us to survive and grow.”

Seeing particular success in the lead-up to Christmas is their ‘Chocolate Happiness in a box’ which contains all their goodies and can be purchased for €45 + delivery (they are also offering free carriage on all orders over €70 to Irish addresses as part of #greenfriday). The website was set up 10 years ago and has since been improved with the help of LEO Clare’s trading online voucher. Patricia says that they are preparing to roll out an updated website to respond to their growing success in this area.

“It is growing and it’s really exciting that the Green Friday initiative and Click For Clare and the #shoplocal, that all turns directly into sales on the website because people can’t get out and they want to support you and get nice things as gifts or for themselves, so all these are fantastic, they’re so helpful.”

SCAN WITH CAMERA TO SHOP AT WILDE IRISH CHOCOLATES

CLICK FOR CLARE 21

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

West is best for SIAR Photographer Gary Collins draws on local landscapes to persevere and begins trading online

CIAN O’BROIN

N

cian@clareecho.ie

EWMARKET on Fergus man Gary Collins offers a documentary and candid style of wedding photography.

The former accountant turned full time photographer now operates two photography services. The first, Siar Photography details the Irish landscape and culture and remains a personal passion piece. The second, is Gary Collins Photography, which provides wedding and family photography services.

Gary speaks to The Clare Echo about the challenges brought on by Covid and the perseverance and flexibility of life as

a photographer.

“I was lucky enough when I finished the leaving cert to go touring with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance. Whilst doing that, I picked up the camera and captured all the different cities, landscapes and cultures. This is where the love of photography started in me. When I came back, I worked as an accountant.

The love of photography always stayed, and I started doing some sports photography and from there into weddings.

Everything was self-taught. The styles are similar between GAA and weddings, I’m constantly on the lookout. You’re very candid and trying to catch that moment that nobody else is going to spot.”

Covid-19 has brought a number of challenges to Gary and an already difficult industry to break into. Now firmly established through a decorated portfo-

lio and a deep trust infused with clientele over six years of business, Gary alludes to a stringent focus on building an online presence for both Siar Photography and Garry Collins Photography. Gary notes a 75 per cent decline in business in relation to wedding photography. He states, “as a photographer some people will concentrate on one niche. I’m a wedding photographer but I’m lucky enough to have that landscape background. I was lucky enough to diversify. I’ve had a good, broad spectrum of work.”

Both websites are a point of contact with the public, Gary admits. Due to Covid, it remains the only outlet in terms of business. Gary availed of the Trading Online Voucher from the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) to assist in creating his websites. This enabled work to be put into the SEO, background and get-

ting the brand out there. Gary also understands the utility of social media and its relation to the industry, maintaining a strong presence on Instagram and Facebook, “the effort on these platforms to support local and buy Irish is very strong on Twitter at the moment. I spend my evening going through those supportive hashtags and looking at businesses.”

Gary concludes on a reason for choosing his photography services, “It’s contemporary landscape photography. It’s the ideal gift for yourself as well as for somebody else. With not being able to travel at the moment, sending a gift of place to somebody is quite important.”

Contact can be made to Gary through ‘Gary Collins Photography’, ‘Siar Photography’ or any social media platform.

ROOM WITH A VIEW: Photographer Gary Collins displaying some of his recent work and (above) some gift ideas available from SIAR Photography

SCAN WITH PHONE CAMERA TO VISIT SIAR PHOTOGRAPHY

TIPS TO HELP YOU SHOP SAFELY ONLINE THIS CHRISTMAS THIS week is Cyber Security Week. As part of our Click For Clare initiative, in association with Local Enterprise Office Clare, we endeavor to inform and educate the public on shopping online safely. Shopping with Clare businesses gives shoppers added security as you are dealing with reputable local companies, but what else should shoppers do to safeguard their purchases?

Here, we explore the best way to shop safely online this Christmas.

AVOID PUBLIC COMPUTERS AND NETWORKS Avoid shopping online outside the home where possible. If doing so, it is advisable to use your own mobile data. It is never a good idea to use a public computer or network

when you’re shopping online. Using a public WiFi or your Bluetooth poses genuine safety concerns as hackers can intercept and view the data you send and receive on the public networks.

BUY FROM REPUTABLE RETAILERS A quick background check on the website you are buying from will reveal any negative feedback in consumer reviews on Google or Facebook for example. Particularly if you are unfamiliar with the website, research the trader’s name, full contact details and business registration number if possible so you know who you are dealing with. An e-mail address or PO box won’t do.

A dot.ie address does not mean the trader is based in Ireland. Your consumer rights

will depend on where the company is based.

If this information is not clearly available consider shopping elsewhere. If you do shop from websites based outside the European Union, be aware that you may face unexpected customs bills.

Private individual sellers are not necessarily fraudulent, but there are no legal instruments to call upon if something goes wrong so pay special attention to informal commerce marketplaces on social media and websites such as ebay and etsy.

Read the Terms & Conditions of sale and purchase on all websites before engaging in purchases and check the delivery and shipping conditions before you pay.

It is recommended you record all steps that have been taken to complete the trans-

action via screenshots and keep copies of all your correspondence such as order confirmation, receipts etc.

PAY SAFELY When shopping online, you usually have more protection if you use a credit card so it is best never to send a cash or bank transfer. When completing a transaction online, make sure you use a secure website to enter credit card information. Look for a locked padlock icon in your searchbar which indicates a secure internet connection. A secure website will have a URL website address that begins with https:// - the ‘s’ stands for secure. This detail indicates that the website uses an encrypted protocol in order to increase security of data transfer.

22 FEATURE

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

STUART HOLLY

A

editor@clareecho.ie

CLARE businessman has developed a new tile business to help contractors cut costs and save time on their building projects.

TileTrader.ie was set up

by Newmarket-on-Fergus native Richard Woods along with Borrisoleigh man Timothy O’Connell, TileTrader.ie sells directly from its newly developed website to contractors.

With over 200 products in stock at their Ennis warehouse - including 20 different laminates and over 150 tiles- all their tiles are available immediately with nationwide delivery offered within three to five working days.

Richard explains that the aim of Tiletrader. ie is to cut contractor costs and take the hassle out of their housing projects.

The former Clare hurler explained to The Clare Echo that the contractor/builders requirements have changed in recent years.

TileTrader.ie was created to aid contractors with this transition “When I started selling houses a builders finish was standard. Today’s customer pays for and requires their house to be finished to an exacting standard which can be a drain on time and resources for builders.

Tiletrader.ie aims to provide quality products to meet the needs of it’s customers while also providing a quality service at an affordable price.�

Richard adds that due to his company’s lower cost base, this cost-saving is passed onto the builder. “It saves them time and saves them money. Some of our products are up to 20 per cent less than retail prices. We offer free estimates and also deliver to your site, with free delivery on sales of over â‚Ź500. We

TileTrader.ie 'takes the hassle out of housing' can meet with contractors and they can pick the tiles online and order the samples for ₏10 including delivery - there’s a wide range of products and they’re all in stock.� Tiletrader. ie also offers a rewards system online which benefits customers each time they order.

Richard combines his construction experience with that of his business partner Tim, who with a degree in architecture has designed and supervised the finishing of houses, hotels and a shopping mall.

Tim has a keen eye for design and his experience in selecting products that work within their environment is a huge addition to the company and it’s customers.

Together they are well placed to offer clients expert advice and products to complete any project.

While Tile Trader works directly with trade (you need a VAT number to buy from them), independent customers can visit their website for pricing or ask their contractor to register at tiletrader.ie and arrange samples and purchasing. “I would like to thank everyone at Clare Local Enterprise Office (LEO) as they have been very helpful to Tiletrader.ie,� Richard concludes.

To register or for more information, visit TileTrader.ie or email info@TileTrader.ie

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lONLINE: Timothy O’Connell and Richard Woods sell tiles directly to contractors

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RECRUITMENT 23

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

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Three retailers awarded funding under Covid support scheme STUART HOLLY

T

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HREE local businesses have been awarded funding under the Government's Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme, Clare TD Joe Carey announced today.

Deputy Carey acknowledged retailers across Clare have been hit "extremely hard by Covid-19", with many forced to move their sales online to survive.

The local Fine Gael TD said: "The Government has been working to ensure retailers are supported as they move online during this challenging time and my colleague the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Damien English, has announced a €5.3 million Online Retail Scheme."

The local retailers to benefit from this round of funding are: Cullinan & Sons Ltd; Ennis Electrical & Gas supplies Ltd; Zest At Ltd. Deputy Carey said: "This is the

second call of the Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme and it is targeted at retailers who already have an online presence to help them strengthen their online offering and enable them to reach a wider customer base. The successful applicants will receive funding ranging from €16,000 to €40,000 with an average grant value of €36,700 covering up to 80% of project costs.

"Fine Gael has always supported small and medium businesses as we know they are the backbone of local economies in towns and villages right around the country.

"Seventy per cent of the successful applicants for this scheme are actually located outside Dublin and I am delighted that hard pressed retailers in Clare are benefitting."

Minister English added: "The Government continues to focus on helping businesses to get back on track in the coming months and as more of our workplaces and businesses can reopen in the coming weeks, in line with public health guidelines, we will do everything we can to support retailers in creating safe shopping spaces, in store and online, for customers and staff."

l SUPPORT: Ennis Electrical have been named in the funding scheme

24

MOTORING

MOTORING

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

P LU G AN D

MOTORING EXPERT NEIL BRISCOE GIVES HIS VIEWS

I

RENAULT ZOE R135 GT-LINE

T was never this easy before. When electric cars first launched, a decade ago, those early models came with built-in hassle. Short ranges, inconsistent charging opportunities, high prices, and a sense that you were driving something that was closer to a fridge than a car.

Well, that has all changed and this new Renault Zoe is an exemplar of that change.

When the Zoe originally launched, it suffered from most, if not quite all, of those early electric car shortcomings. Renault kept updating and refining the Zoe, though,

RENAULT’S ALL-ELECTRIC ZOE PROVES HOW

making it better every time, and for 2020 there’s this, the all-new model.

Well, I say all-new... Actually, under the skin, the basic structure and chassis of the Zoe are much as they were, but the body, although familiar, looks a little sharper, and Renault has managed to carve out a little more space inside, so that you no longer have to constantly rub elbows with your front-seat passenger.

Much more importantly, the Zoe’s battery and electric motor are new. The 52kWh battery in Zoe is far, far larger than the pair of AA Duracells you got in the original. In fact, with only an extra 2kWh to play with relative to the Zoe’s closest rivals — the Peugeot e-208 and Opel Cor-

sa-e — the Zoe can squeeze out an extra 45km of claimed one-charge range. With a fully-topped-off battery, the Zoe should be good for as much as 395km. In fact, you’ll probably do better than that if you’re driving mostly around town, where the regenerative braking system helps to scavenge extra charge as you go, but if you’re mixing in some motorway miles, the realistic range drops to around 250-280km. Which is still pretty decent.

Better still, the Zoe charges up quickly.

Plug it into a 50kWh rapid charger and it’ll go from empty to 80 per cent charged in around 30-45mins. The Zoe has a neat trick, though — it has a clever charging system built-in, called the Chameleon

charger, that allows it to make the most of lower-powered chargers. Hook a Zoe up to one of the ESB’s 22kW on-street chargers (the boxy white and green ones, located on pavements) and it’ll add 125km worth of range in just one hour of charging, while you nip to the shops or have some lunch. At home, with a 7.4kWh home-charger wall-box, it will fill the battery from empty to the brim in around nine hours while you snooze.

The fact that this model is called the Zoe R135 also reveals another improvement — the electric motor, which has been beefed up to deliver — guess what — 135hp and 245Nm of torque (although the extra power does strip a little range away — 386km compared to the full 395km of the cheaper R110 version). That makes the Zoe feel very zippy indeed, and even when you’re

Fully charged, unplugged and ready for you.

Renault is offering:

€1,000 Green Grant + 2.11% APR + 3 Months Deferred Payments Megane - Plug-in Hybrid Zoe - 100% Electric

Captur - Plug-in Hybrid

Clio - Hybrid

Models shown: Mégane Sport Tourer Iconic E-TECH Plug-in Hybrid 160 – RRP €30,356; ZOE GT Line Z.E.50 R135 – RRP €32,427; Clio RS Line E-TECH Hybrid 140 – RRP €29,307; Captur S-Edition E-TECH Plug-in Hybrid 160 – RRP €30,037 (ZOE, Captur and Mégane RRPs include €5,000 SEAI grant for private buyers, prices valid in November 2020). Finance example ZOE Play R110 Z.E.50. RRP €27,728. Deposit €11,534. Term 48 monthly payments of €339. APR 2.11%. Total cost of credit €659 inc fee of €75. Offer is made under a hire purchase agreement. Payment deferral available on request. First payment will be taken 90 days after activation of finance agreement. Subject to lending criteria. Terms and conditions apply. See Renault.ie [Warning: You will not own these goods until the final payment is made]. Renault Bank is a trading name of RCI Banque Branch Ireland and is authorised and regulated by the French banking authority and supervised by the Central Bank for conduct of business purposes.

HOGAN MOTORS ENNIS Gort Road, Ennis, Co Clare Tel 065 6821704 www.hoganmotorsennis.ie

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

MOTORING

P LAY

GOOD ELECTRIC CARS HAVE BECOME driving with the mode selector switched to Eco, there’s very good response from the motor, and acceleration that you’d be tempted to call sporty, even if the on-paper 9.5secs0-100km/h sprint looks like nothing special.

That’s the only sporty aspect of the Zoe, though — the rest of the driving experience is perhaps unsurprisingly closely related to that of the Clio hatchback, so although it’s no ball of excitement, the Zoe does feel nimble and agile, and reasonably rewarding. The regenerative braking gives you a certain amount of ‘one-pedal’ driving around town, as the drag of the electric motor slows the car strongly when you lift off the accelerator.

Inside, there’s more good news. Again,

much of the Zoe’s cabin is lifted from the Clio, and again that’s no bad thing. You get a very handsome digital instrument panel, on which you can alter the colour and layout to suit your mood, and our highly-specced GT-Line test car came with the ‘portrait’ style nine-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dash. iPad-like in looks, this screen represents a big step forward for Renault’s ‘Easy-Link’ infotainment system, which now looks and feels much more slick and easy to use than the rock-solid.

The only thing you need to watch is the price. Renault touts the Zoe as being Ireland’s most affordable electric car, and with a base price of €26,990 for the 110hp version, it is. But our test car, in GT-Line

spec and with a good few options fitted, ballooned that price tag to a less palatable €35,015 so be careful which boxes you tick on the Zoe’s equipment list.

While it is a refinement and an update of what went before, the Zoe now feels like a truly ground-breaking electric car.

It’s so easy to use, so unflappable on longer journeys, and so quick to charge when you need to. No wonder it’s been such a runaway sales success in Europe, so much so that Renault finds itself able to sell carbon credits to other car makers, unable to meet their new emissions limits under EU law. In the world which we now live, that arguably makes the Zoe one of the most desirable new cars of the year.

MOTORING

FACTS & FIGURES Model tested: Renault Zoe R135 Z.E. 50 GT Line Pricing €35,015 as tested; Zoe starts at €26,990 Electric system: 100kW electric motor and 52kWh battery pack Transmission: single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive Body style: five-door, five-seat hatchback CO2 emissions: 0g/km (Band A0 - €120 per annum) WLTP range: 386km as tested; 395km for R110 Play version Top speed: 140km/h 0-100km/h: 9.5 seconds Power: 135hp Torque: 245Nm Boot space: 338-1,225 litres Safety: EuroNCAP Rating: Five-stars.

89 per cent adult; 80 per cent child; 66 per cent pedestrian; 85 per cent safety assist

25

26

MOTORING

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

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MOTORING

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

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OVER 100 VEHICLES TO CLEAR

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MODEL

PRICE

COMMERCIAL RANGE 202 Caddy Maxi Life TDI 7 Seater Automatic 202 Caddy Maxi Life TDI 7 Seater 181 Caddy Maxi Life TDI 7 Seater Automatic 181 Caddy Life TDI 7 Seater Automatic 171 Caddy Maxi Life 7 Seater 161 Caddy Maxi Kife 7 Seater 131 Caddy Maxi Life 7 Seater -- Drop Floor TRANSPORTER RANGE 202 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB HL 150BHP 202 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB 150BHP 202 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB HL 150BHP Automatic 202 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 150 BHP Trendline 202 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 191 Transpoerter 2.0 TDI LWB 150BHP 191 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB --- "0" Mileage 181 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB 181 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 171 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 150BHP H/L 4X4 162 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB 140 151 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB 141 Transporter 2.0 TDI LWB 140 BHP 131 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 2012 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 2011 Transporter 2.0 TDI SWB 2008 Transporter LWB Kombi 6 Seater Commercial 2006 Transporter LWB Kombi 6 Seater Commercial AMAROK RANGE 192 Amarok V6 H/Line 258BHP Automatic 171 Amarok V6 Automatic 152 Amarok 2.0 TDI CADDY RANGE 202 Caddy TDI Trendline 201 Caddy TDI Trendline 192 Caddy TDI Highline 181 Caddy TDI 150BHP 6speed 181 Caddy TDI Maxi 150 6speed 181 Caddy TDI 172 Caddy TDI Trendline 171 Caddy TDI 150 65 162 Caddy TDI Highline 161 Caddy 2.0 TDI 151 Caddy 1.6 TDI 141 Caddy 1.6 TDI CRAFTER RANGE 202 Crafter MWB H/R 140BHP -- extras 202 Crafter MWB 140 BHP 191 Crafter 3.5 ton MWB H/R 191 Crafter MWB 172 Crafter LWB 3.5 ton 140 H/R 171 161 151 2010

Crafter MWB Crafter LWB 136 BHP H/R Crafter 3.5 Ton MWB 136 BHP H/R Crafter 3.5 Ton MWB H/R

€38,500.00 €35,500.00 €24,000.00 €23,000.00 €19,950.00 €16,500.00 €18,000.00 €31400 +Vat €28500 +Vat €33500 + Vat €28500 + Vat €24800 + Vat €23000 + Vat €20250 + Vat €19000 + Vat €18,000.00 €21075 + Vat €16115 + Vat €13650 + Vat €11550 + Vat €9500 + Vat €7500 + Vat €9,500.00 €7850 + VAT €5000 + VAT €35500 + Vat €29500 + Vat €18500 + Vat €17355 + Vat €18,000.00 €18,000.00 €13500 + Vat €30,500.00 €12500 + Vat €13500 + Vat €12000 + Vat €13500 + Vat €9500 + Vat €8500 + Vat €6500 + Vat €28,000 + Vat €26,500 + Vat €24,500 + Vat €19,500 + Vat €21,500 + Vat

YEAR

PRICE

2012 Crafter 3.5 Ton MWB H/R 2004 VW LT 2.5 LWB HONDA RANGE

€10,500 + Vat €2,000.00

172 Honda CRV 1.6 ES DSL SUV 162 Honda Civic 1.6 4 Door Choice KIA RANGE 171 Kia Sportage 1.7 Dsl Platinum 161 Kia Sportage 1.7 Dsl Platinum 151 Kia Sportage 1.7 Dsl Platinum 2008 Kia Ceed 1.4 Petrol HYUNDAI RANGE 162 Hyundai Sante Fee DSL 4X4 7 Seater 181 Hyundai I40 Executive4D 1.7 DSL --- White 141 Hyundai I40 Executive 4D 171 Hyundai Tucson 1.7 DSL Executive BMW RANGE 162 BMW 316 DSL Sport --- 30K 2012 BMW 520 SE Dsl 2012 BMW 116 SE MAZDA RANGE 171 Mazda 5 2.2 DSL Ex SE 162 Mazda 2 Executive 1.5 H/B 131 Mazda 6 2.2 DSL 150BHP 141 Mazda 6 2.2 DSL Shyactive 152 Mazda 5 2.2 DSL SE Automatic 142 Maza 3 Executive 2.2 Dsl 150 FORD RANGE 181 Ford Transit Custom 260 SWB 161 Ford Transit LWB 161 Ford Transit 350 LWB 125 151 Ford Transit Custom 125 BHP 131 Ford Transit T200 SWB 2011 Ford Transit 300 LWB 141 Ford Transit 350 LWB 125 2012 Ford Transit T260 2010 Ford Transit 300 LWB 2008 Ford Transit T280 MITSUBISHI RANGE 181 Mitsubishi ASX 1.6 Petrol 5DR 141 Mitsubisi Outlander 2.0 DSL Comm 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0 DSL Comm 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.2 LWB 2005 Mitsubishi L200 MERCEDES RANGE 161 Mercedes C220 SE DSL Estate Automatic 161 Mercedes Vito 116 Dsl 131 Mercedes C200 Avenguard Dsl 131 Mercedes Sprinter CDI 313 2010 Mercedes C200 CDI SE

€22,500.00 €14,950.00

€18,000 + Vat €12,500 + Vat €13,500 + Vat €9,500 + Vat

CONTACT PORTUMNA ENNIS TUAM

MODEL

090 742200 065 6822400 093 26411

Al Niall Alan Martin

086 2449645 087 6385033 087 4153872 086 2056597

€19,500.00 €16,950.00 €15,000.00 €2,500.00 €24,000.00 €21,000.00 €9,500.00 €19,500.00 €22,500.00 €12,500.00 €9,500.00 €18,500.00 €11,500.00 €7,500.00 €9,500.00 €19,500.00 €9,950.00 €15,500.00 €14,950.00 €12,500 + Vat €11,150 + Vat €5,500.00 €4,950.00 €12,500.00 €6,500.00 €5,000.00 €3,500.00 €19,500.00 €12,500 + Vat €10,200 + Vat €7,500.00 €3,500.00 €19,950.00 €14,000.00 €13,500.00 €10,500.00 €9,500.00

27

28

MOTORING

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

N18 AUTOS EXPANDS ITS BUSINESS TO ENNIS N

18 AUTOS has expanded its business to the town of Ennis in 2020, having previously serviced Newmarket on Fergus since 2010.

The company focuses on the sale of high-quality used cars, sourcing from main dealers in Northern Ireland. All cars are history checked, come with a warranty, fully serviced and fully valeted with NCT. Head of sales and Finance, Anthony Breen, explains that the expansion has allowed the company to delve into repairs and has “opened up a whole new customer base due to high demand.”

Anthony states, “We didn’t have repairs before this year for reasons outside our own control. What we did in 2020 is, when a business opportunity came up in Ennis, off the Mill Road, where Ennis Motor Factors used to be, we decided to set up a second business for repairs, service, NCT prep. We sell wipers, oil, light bulbs, all those essential things. First of all, it’s for our own customers and for the public also, for service repairs maintenance. In Newmarket, our customer base would have been Quin, Newmarket, Shannon and the Sixmilebridge area, but this opens up Ennis and the surrounding areas big time for us.”

There are two staff members working in the depot in Ennis. Sean Kelly works as a fully qualified mechanic; his commitment to the craft comes with a total of 12 years’ industry experience. Cars can avail of a vehicle diagnosis here. Also, Keith Naughton, the son of Michael Naughton’s previous business, Ennis Motor Factors, works as the service manager. Keith is responsible for taking bookings and schedules as well as some diagnostics for cars also.

Anthony reiterates that NCT preparation is one of the key components of the business model employed at N18 Autos in Ennis and urges customers to make contact with N18 Autos.

Bookings can made by visiting the Newmarket on

Fergus site or the new Ennis site. Contact can also be made through WhatsApp on 087-266 6429 or 085-854 9995.

“We would like to say a big thanks to all our loyal customers to date, we wouldn’t be where we are today without them,” Anthony asserts.

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

MOTORING

START THE NEW YEAR EARLY AT

ŠKODA’S 0% RESTART EVENT.

Where you can get 0% finance across the SUV range at Al Hayes ŠKODA. Offer available until the 4th of December.

Al Hayes Škoda, Gort Road, Ennis, Co. Clare.

Tel: 065 682 2400 • www.alhayesskoda.ie Typical Example: KAMIQ 1.0 TSI Ambition €24,730. Deposit €7,390.74. 36 Monthly payments of €209 including fixed price service plan of €12.99 per month. Optional final payment €10,332.90. Total Hire Purchase Price €24,780. €0 cost of credit. No minimum deposit requirement. Finance is provided by way of Hire Purchase Agreement from Volkswagen Financial Services Ireland and subject to lending criteria. This offer does not apply to fleet sales. Offer available on all orders taken before 4th December 2020 and registered before 31st January 2021.

Payment of a ŠKODA Service Plan through a fixed monthly fee is only available to customers with a ŠKODA Financial Services contract. Picture for illustrative purposes only. Price includes delivery and related charges. WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) combined fuel consumption for KAMIQ in l/100km range from 6.7 to 5.2. WLTP combined CO2 emissions in g/km range from 150 to 117.

29

Property

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

Beautiful homes all over the County

9 WOODSTOCK DRIVE, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€299,000

4 CLOONBEG, SHANABALLA, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€209,000

GLASCLOUNE, DOONBEG, CO. CLARE

30

€399,950

LOCATED in the affluent suburb of Shanaway Road, just two kilometers west of Ennis Town Centre, immediately adjacent to Woodstock Golf and Country Club and Hotel Woodstock, Number 9 Woodstock Drive is part of a small development of detached homes all set on sites extending to approximately 1/3 of an acre, vast open green areas and mature woodlands and hedgerows. On entering the spacious entrance hallway the U-shaped feature staircase to the first floor is the centre point with doors leading to main reception, kitchen/dining room, ground floor WC and ground floor bedroom. There are a further four bedrooms to the first floor with the master bedroom being en-suite and the main bathroom. The property features extensive timber flooring and tiling throughout with quality fitted kitchen, solid fuel open fireplace and connecting the main reception to the kitchen/dining is a stunning sun lounge with double French doors onto an extensive rear paved patio. This is a fantastic family home in a countryside setting with Ennis Town just a short distance.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

LOCATED at the entrance to the Cloonbeg housing development and fronting onto the vast landscaped open green area and within walking distance of all local and town amenities, No. 4 is a bright, spacious and well proportioned 4 bedroom semi detached family home presented for sale in excellent condition throughout. The brick paved front drive with lawned areas to both sides leads to gated side access to a fantastic rear garden which is fully walled and not overlooked.

On entering the entrance hallway the quality tiled flooring leads to a spacious main reception with open fireplace with gas fire insert and double connecting glass feature doors to the open plan kitchen/dining. Rounding off the accommodation on the ground floor is the utility and ground floor WC. This would make a fantastic first time buyer or family home in this mature development with viewing highly recommended and strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents.

THIS outstanding four bedroom detached traditional style property comes to the market in a unique location overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The 2,831 sq.ft property is set on an impressive 1 acre site (4046.86 square meters) five minutes from the N67 between Kilkee and Doonbeg.

Within touching distance of this house is the breath taking rocky coastline of the Baltard Cliffs with the Blue Pool famous for mackerel fishing, and the world renowned Riley’s Wave for the adventurous surfer. The purchaser of this property will have access on private lands to their own private swimming pool in the form of the Blue Pool as well as fishing, diving and surfing.Nearby is the White Strand a Blue Flag beach, and the village of Doonbeg with its reputation for fine dining, golfing, international jazz festival as well as shops, traditional pubs and musical entertainment.

This property comes highly recommended with viewing strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

29 LEIM AN BHRADAIN, GORT ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

KILLERK EAST, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

MOYASTA, KILRUSH, CO. CLARE

€119,950

€450,000

€199,950

NO.29 Is a fantastic bright two bedroom apartment overlooking communal green area in the popular quiet development of Leim An Bhradain on the Gort Road in Ennis, Co. Clare. Located beside Lidl & River Lodge Health Club the property is within walking distance of the Town Centre. Internally the apartment has been partly modernised and refurbished with new laminate timber flooring in both bedrooms, new tile flooring throughout the kitchen/living area and a complete new kitchen with appliances recently installed. The property offers easy access to Ennis Town Centre with the M18 Galway Limerick motorway within a short driving distance. The development is maintained to a high standard with landscaped lawned garden areas and an abundance of parking spaces. Excellent investment or owner occupier opportunity. Viewing is strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents

SET on a stunning landscaped site of approximately 0.85 acres, this deceptive stone fronted home hides a vast 3,000 sq ft floor space, set around a wonderful courtyard to the rear.

Entering the front door, it is evident the smart design, layout and finishes are to accommodate the ultimate in family living, with bright spacious and well proportioned rooms, open plan living room which connects to the formal dining and amazing kitchen and in addition to this open plan space are a further two reception rooms. Off the dining room is the generous utility and ceiling to floor sliding doors to the courtyard. Also at ground floor level are two bedrooms, home office and shower room. To the first floor, the spacious landing leads to a further 4 bedrooms, bathroom and games room. Viewing is a must and strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents.

DECEPTIVELY large 4 bedroom with separate 1 bedroom ground floor set on a 0.5 acre site. Located 6km from the sea side resort town of Kilkee and 6km from Kilrush, the property offers large spacious living accommodation which is well finished throughout with 4 double bedrooms, open plan kitchen/dining area, large reception room and separate utility. The ground floor apartment offers reception room, kitchen and 1 bedroom with an ensuite. Viewing is strictly by prior appointment with Sole Selling Agents.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley Tel: (065) 684 0200 PSL 002295

Sport Clare Echo THE

12-11-20

pg 31

instagram.com/ClareEcho twitter.com/ClareEcho facebook.com/clareecho clareecho.ie

World Cup gold for Ballyvaughan’s Liam

B

A L L Y VA UGHAN’S Liam Jegou created history over the weekend becoming the first Irish canoeist to win gold in the canoe slalom World Cup. A brilliant performance from Liam in Pau on Sunday, the French city where he is based, saw him claim gold in the C1 category of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. His run of 100.35 seconds was 0.73 seconds quicker than Vaclav Chaloupka of the Czech Republic and capped a fine week of form for

Jegou who had the fastest qualification time on Friday.

Not alone was Liam’s gold the first time an Irish canoeist won gold in the C1 category but it also marked the first gold world medal secured by the Clare man.

“What a day, what a week, what a year. Buzzing to have put down a big run in my first World Cup final,” he said following the success. “I’ve been pushing myself really hard now for several years, and all summer, preparing for events like this. So I’m absolutely thrilled to put down a big run like this in the

seniors, it means a lot”.

Before moving back to France, Liam lived in Muckinish in the North Clare harbour village.

He previously won silver at the 2014 Junior World Championship and bronze at the U23 World Championships in 2019.

Liam will compete in the C1 class at the Tokyo Olympics and will become only the second Irish athlete to do so following in the footsteps of Mike Corcoran who competed in the Atlanta Games in 1996. Indeed, Jegous was the first member of Team Ireland to be formally selected for the Tokyo Games.

Friday night double for Gort’s John Quinn

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IT WAS a Friday night to remember for Gort’s John Quinn while this Saturday Clare hopes in the quarter-finals of the Friends of Limerick Irish St Leger lay firmly with Own Spice.

There were 12 races down for decision on Friday at Galway with the twin features the A2 graded 10th contest over 550 Yards and the concluding A2 graded 525 yard contest.

As the traps rose for the A2 graded 550 Yards contest the John Quinn of Gort owned Fast Fit Ash was smartly into stride on the outside and in the long run to the opening bend the Declan McDonagh of Liscannor trained runner led Badgerfort Tommy by a length. Turning down the back Fast Fit Ash set sail for home and passing halfway the son of Laughill Blake & Fast Fit Misty led by four lengths. Off the home bend Fast Fit Ash was in control as he raced to a three length success in 30.44.

Owner John Quinn completed a double in the A3

graded 11th contest as the Martin Fahy trained Fast Fit Limit led off the home bend to defeat Cozzys Gem by a length and a quarter.

In the early strides of race two in an S8 graded contest Glasheen Davy and Peteles Duchess were both prominent. Rounding the opening bend Glasheen Davy owned

by Kilkee’s Brendan Browne took a definite advantage along the inside rails and kicked off the home bend to defeat Kilbannon Logan by three and a half lengths.

Race four developed into a match from an early stage as from traps Cheroke Champ, Muckinish Flyer and Zero Windfall were smartly into stride. Between the two bends Muckinish Flyer began to assert and the Mary Ward of Spancilhill owned daughter of Ballymac Vic & Brookeville Dash eased away to prevail by three and a quarter lengths in 19.44.

Ballyea Scrutiny made it two wins from two starts in race seven of an S4 graded contest. The son of Droopys Buick and Flandys Hawkeye

who is owned by Noel Gavin of Ballyea proved a length and a quarter too good from Derra Misty in 19.42.

Saturday’s card featured the three semi-finals of the Liam Brussels Memorial 525 Yards Stake sponsored by the Brussels Family. In the opening semi-final, the Ducking & Diving Syndicate owned Double Good (son of Good News & Bull Run Kite) defeated the staying on Kilwest Lady by six & a quarter lengths in 29.00.

Runner up in his debut the Pat Hogan of Ennis owned Aulton Zero made no mistake at the second time of asking in race three.

The Seamus Fahy trained son of Zero Ten & Heathlawn Gold scored by five lengths from Divas Snowie in 19.48.

Down Limerick way, the quarter-finals of the Friends of Limerick Irish St Leger takes place this Saturday night. Clare hopes lay with Own Spice owned by Cooraclare’s Thomas O’Doherty and trained by John Browne of Ballyea.

12-11-20

Clare Echo THE

pg 32

instagram.com/ClareEcho twitter.com/ClareEcho facebook.com/clareecho clareecho.ie

TWO OF A KIND DAVY VS LOHAN

Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald and Clare manager Brian Lohan Photography: Martin Connolly / Jim Campbell

Same passion and determination heats rivalry, say ex-teammates SEAMUS HAYES Clare V Wexford Portlaoise, Sat 2pm

A

S CLARE and Wexford put the final touches to preparations for their round 2 All-Ireland hurling qualifier clash on Saturday at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise there is much focus on the rival managers Brian Lohan and Davy Fitzgerald.

Team mates and key players in Clare’s All-Ireland and Munster championship wins in the late 90s, relations between them have soured following a Fitzgibbon Cup clash between LIT, managed by Fitzgerald and UL managed by Lohan.

“That will have no bearing on the game”, according to former Clare trainer and manager Mike McNamara who knows both men well.

“Both management teams know that they have to get the show on the road. Both presented their teams badly in recent weeks and they took chances that they should not have been taking. Both know that they have players capable of a lot more than they are producing”.

Injuries and absences are commonplace when it comes to knockout hurling, the Scariff man believed. “Everybody is at a loss when it comes to championship. Brian

certainly has got a baptism of fire.

Davy is three or four years further down the road that Brian in terms of inter county management”.

Should Clare hit the right notes, McNamara expects they will emerge from Portlaoise victorious.

“They have got to get it right this time as people will be looking for a result. If they play to their potential I will be surprised if Clare don’t win. Wexford had the opportunity last year and if you don’t take it you regret it”.

Brian Quinn was a member of the Clare All-Ireland winning squads from 1995 and 1997 and played alongside Brian Lohan in the Clare full back line and just in front of goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald. He said both men possess similar traits. “There is no doubting the passion that both have for the game of hurling. Both are driven and hungry to win”.

Each county would have been happy to get each other, he felt.

“This is probably the best draw for both teams given the results to date but one can expect a backlash from Wexford. Fitzy is a passionate Clareman but he has a job to do and anyone that goes to another county has to be loyal to that county and that scenario is happening much more often nowadays. He will be doing all he can to steer Wexford to a win”.

The Tulla man believes that “Clare have a great chance. They have two games behind them and while they haven’t really fired, the

games will bring them on. Everyone knows that more players have to step up. If they don’t they will be out. This is a great chance for Clare. Wexford looked a bit flat against Galway but they will improve. Clare are having a tough time at the moment, especially with a few players missing but they have done okay. They are where they want to be”.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Fergal Hegarty was of the view that Clare will be confident of beating Wexford having watched their defeat to Galway. “When they last met in the championship in Cork a few years ago, Clare won comfortably. If ever Clare will pull out a performance this will be the one”.

Also a two-time All-Ireland winner, Hegarty said both managers will have pinpointed this game as a massive opportunity. “Davy knows the Clare players well but leaving that aside, both he and Brian will look on this as an opportunity.

Wexford might take them a little for granted. Clare will take confidence from the fact that they have beaten them comfortably in Pairc Ui Caoimh only two years ago”.

With no crowd permitted to attend the game, the Inagh/Kilnamona clubman noted that the prospects of tensions reaching boiling point were less likely. “The fact that there isn’t a crowd there wont ignite anything that could happen on the line, The atmosphere isn’t as tense when the crowd isn’t there.

The way Wexford seem to set up

with few forwards up front will suit Clare with the way their defence has been under pressure. Wexford wont have a big goal threat which is a positive for Clare, I don’t think Wexford will shoot a big score.

Davy won’t want to lose the game and that sometimes suits the opposition. Both teams need to improve. When you look back on the Limerick game and see what has unfolded since Clare were more competitive than Tipp for a lot longer. Clare will take some positives from that game now. We were average against Laois and Wexford were poor against Galway”.

Fitzgerald’s knowledge of Tony Kelly will be a factor, Hegarty who coached Ballyea to Clare and Munster club in 2016 said. “Tony is having an unbelievable season.

Davy knowing him as well as he does will have a plan and that is something Clare will have to be ready for and hope for bigger performances from others”.

Bodyke’s Liam Doyle also formed part of the Clare defence alongside Lohan and Fitzgerald that secured All-Ireland and provincial honours in 1995 and 1997.

On what the pair bring to a set-up, he explained “Both are very passionate hurling men, fairly driven on and off the field which they have proven . Davy with various club and county teams and Brian at Fitzgibbon Cup and club levels”.

Doyle flagged that both counties were at different stages. “Go back twelve months and Wexford

achieved a lot, winning Leinster and this year they would have expected to go further, Appearing in the All-Ireland final is a goal they would have set. On the night they played Galway they didn’t perform, Galway were impressive on the evening especially up front”.

“In Brian’s first year in he hadn’t much time which is unfortunate.

They had a good start in the league but things were interrupted with COVID-19. We are in a rebuilding process at the moment because of the loss of key players. You are missing three or four All stars and you can’t buy experience. It’s unfortunate for Brian to be down such key players”.

“The media will make more out of the Brian v Davy thing than the two boys will. This is a Clare v Wexford match and the prize is a quarter final spot. Brian would not want any of that. That wouldn’t be Brian’s way. The match will be won or lost on the field”, according to the Bodyke man.

The All-Star defender believes that “the choice of venue might not be bad for Clare. A bigger field might suit Wexford more. The more Clare can make it a tighter affair the better for them. In fairness to Brian, it is working for him the way he is playing Tony Kelly but Wexford will have studied this, Brian and his backroom team will know that. It will be up to a few more fellas to take on the mantle. We can’t expect Tony to hurl 365 days of the year. He will need help”.

pg 33

12-11-20

Clare Echo THE

instagram.com/ClareEcho twitter.com/ClareEcho facebook.com/clareecho clareecho.ie

Stop Wexford’s running game and Clare can topple Fitzgerald’s men Darach Honan’s CHAMPIONSHIP ANALYSIS

C

LARE recorded a good victory under trying circumstances in Nowlan Park at the weekend. Despite winning the game and progressing to the next round, much of the media reaction was negative. Although the game was close, there were lots of positives to be taken from a hard-fought win.

Clare started well; our use of the ball was markedly better than vs Limerick. Laois withdrew attackers leaving Paul Flanagan free early in the game, allowing him to distribute the ball well when in possession and act as the catalyst for Clare attacks. Where against Limerick we were one dimensional in delivering long ball, this time out we worked the ball through the lines and created some good scores. The early signs were good, but once we were reduced to 14, our use of possession did become more panicked.

Laois’s early goal kept them in the game and highlighted a recurring weakness in our defence.

When Aaron Dunphy collected the ball 50 yards from goal after a good block down, there appeared to be little danger. The way in which our defence collapsed in the face of his direct running will be a huge cause for concern. Clare had six covering defenders to Laois’s three forwards at this point, but they were still able to carve a hole through the middle and finish with a goal. Clare’s half back

line was extremely vulnerable when Laois ran at them, and this was only exacerbated by the loss of David McInerny to a red card early in the game.

Despite being reduced to 14, Clare scored a respectable 27 points. Tony Kelly again led the charge but there was more help this time out. Aron Shanagher produced a massive performance at full forward while shipping some serious punishment from the Laois backs. Shanagher is a beast of a man, and he won hard ball time and again despite being outnumbered. His shooting was excellent as he converted tough chances. It was a shame that Tony had to be brought out to midfield in McInerny’s absence, as if Clare could find a way for Tony to play off Shanagher’s shoulder it could be a potent partnership.

After the Limerick game, Clare knew they needed to improve.

One problem area vs Limerick was our half forward line. Brian changed up the personnel here, and to good effect.

Cathal Malone’s positioning at half forward also strengthened our attack. Cathal is becoming a real leader on this team and has produced two solid performances in the championship this year.

Malone played deep helping in defence. However, he kept the Laois defence honest as he had the required fitness levels to get up the field, remaining a threat in attack.

Cathal Malone has proved himself a vital cog in the Clare set-up.

Photograph: Martin Connolly

It was interesting also to note the deployment of Shane O’Donnell at centre forward. This positioning could be what is needed to get Shane into games and make him an integral part of the attack. He is willing to drop into midfield and work to turn over possession. He is also quite intelligent on the ball.

He won some frees and linked the play well. He will need to add a scoring threat to be fully effective in the centre forward role. The opportunities did arise, and I am sure it is something he will work on in training this week.

Clare did what was required vs a Laois team that has received much praise for the progress they have made over the last few seasons.

They did this while undermanned for most of the game and after being hit for three goals without converting their own chances. While there is room for improvement,

the management and players will be happy with that.

Similarly, both Wexford and Clare will be happy with the draw that was made on Monday. Wexford are Leinster champions but were very poor in their first outing versus Galway. After Clare’s opening games they have come in for much criticism, so both sides will see this as a game they can win.

Everyone knows what to expect against Wexford and the sweeper system, as such, it will be a test of Brian Lohan and how well he can prepare his team for it.

Wexford are successful when they crowd the middle, dominate possession in midfield and transition quickly from defence to attack. They have good athletes and their direct running could cause problems. As we noted, the porousness of our half backline was an issue against Laois and Wex-

ford will look to exploit this also.

It is encouraging that Clare county board are appealing David McInerney’s red card. He is a vital cog in this team and his physicality would be badly missed if he were to remain suspended. If available, he should be deployed at centre back in a bid to hold this position. It was encouraging also to see Shane Golden enter the fray vs Laois. His physicality in the middle of the park could be a huge boost if Lohan chooses to play him. Similarly, David Fitzgerald, who did not feature vs Laois could be brought into good effect.

If you can stop the Wexford running game, you go a long way towards beating them. Their forward formations leave them isolated as they are outnumbered up there. It makes it difficult for them to hit direct ball and as a result they can be one dimensional.

However, such is the class of the athlete available to them in Wexford, stopping their running game is easier said than done.

In attack, Clare will have to be smart with how we set up and subsequently use the ball. With the presence of the Wexford sweeper it is important to spread their defence. Delivery must be kept outside the sweeper where one-on-ones can be created. Blind clearances down the middle are to be avoided at all costs as it brings Kevin Foley into the game and plays into their hands.

This clash is one that both teams, managers and the public will have hoped for. Despite missing some key players, this is a game that Clare can win. If they can progress here it opens huge possibilities for this team and would be a huge boost after plenty of negative coverage in recent weeks. I fancy Clare to win a tight encounter.

Malty rules out chairman bid as McGuane confirms candidacy SEAMUS HAYES WITH the domestic GAA playing season over for 2020 attention is now turning to preparations for 2021. This time of year sees much speculation as to who will be seeking election to executives at club and county levels.

Over the coming weeks clubs across the county will hold their annual general meetings and this

will mark another first for all involved as these meetings will be held online because of the Covid 19 restrictions currently in place.

The annual convention of Clare GAA will take place on Tuesday December 15 and nominations for places on the executive close this weekend.

Three of the outgoing executive complete their terms in office this year. The meeting will elect people to take over from Joe Cooney (chairman), PJ McGuane (vice chairman) and Kieran Keating (Munster Council delegate) .

Vice chairman McGuane from Cooraclare has confirmed to The Clare Echo that he is seeking election to the post of Chairman.

Ex Chairman, Robert Frost had been linked as a potential runner in the race. The O’Callaghans Mills clubmate of the current chairman Joe Cooney told The Clare Echo this week that he had yet to decide if he would contest for the position.

Another former holder of the role, Michael McDonagh from Miltown has confirmed this week that he will not be in the running. “I will not be a candidate and neither

have I been asked to seek election as was incorrectly stated earlier this week”, he confirmed to The Clare Echo this week.

Speculation is rife that the board’s current P.R.O. Michael O’Connor will be nominated for the post while the name of current treasurer Michael Gallagher is also being linked to this position.

Current Bord na nÓg hurling chairman, Neil O’Brien, also a member of the O’Callaghans Mills club, is believed to be considering seeking election to the position of vice chairman while outgoing Mun-

ster Council delegate Kieran Keating is also expected to be nominated for this position.

Former Board treasurer Bernard Keane is expected to be nominated for the post of delegate to the Munster Council, a position he was narrowly defeated for three years ago.

Once nominations close, those nominated will be asked to confirm whether or not they are standing for election before clubs will be asked to cast their votes in advance of the online convention.

12-11-20

Clare Echo THE

pg 34

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ALL-IRELAND SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP: QUALIFIER ROUND 2 Compiled by Páraic McMahon

Too close for comfort but Clare prevail Laois 3-17 Clare 0-27 Venue: Semple Stadium, Thurles LAOIS Frees For: 9 (4/5) Wides: 10 (6/4) Scores from play: 3-11 Spread of scorers: 9 Top scorer: Mark Kavanagh (0-06 3f 1’SC) Own puck-outs won: 29 from 39 (74%) CLARE Frees For: 13 (8/5) Wides: 12 (8/4) Scores from play: 0-17 Spread of scorers: 9 Top scorer: Tony Kelly (0-13 9f) Own puck-outs won: 22 from 30 (73%) PLAYER WATCH STEPHEN O’HALLORAN (CLARE) Minutes Played: All Possessions: 9 (7/2) Clearances: 4 (2/2) Passes: 5 (5/0) Short: 4 Long: 1 Hurley Pass: 4 Hand

Pass: 1 Tackles: 3 (0/3) Interceptions: 2 (0/2) Shots: 1 Scores: 0-00 Wides: 0 Dropped short: 1

EDDIE BRENNAN, LAOIS MANAGER “We had three frees that we drove wide, they are the little margins that make the difference on a day like today. If you are going to pull the rug from a top tier team in a championship match, that is what you need. I love a manly game, I love a good hard-hitting contest but I saw two decisions out there that were blatant head hits, one of them got a yellow and another got nothing. In terms of officiating, we either have to enforce that rule or not, one of them happened right in front of the official on the sideline with us.

If you can throw the handle of the hurl up into a lads face in front of a referee and a linesman and it’s going to get a yellow card then what are we doing. A lad lifted his shoulder into Paddy Purcell’s head going down the sideline. I don’t know what went on with David McInerney, he is a guy you would hate to see possibly in trouble for the next day. We did enough to get something out of that match and we didn’t so I’m bitterly disappointed and I’m not trying to blame something, it is just a point”.

“We have to look at everything, the stakeholders involved have to look at how they grow this now and make

the step up, I think it starts at County Board level, if they are ambitious they will look at setting the bar and support those bunch of players to go where they want to go”.

“I took on this job for two years with a view to a third so we’ll have to sit back and reassess. I think there is a lot of people involved and we have to see if Laois hurling is going somewhere.

I’d be happy with the job we’ve done, I’d be very proud of the players but if you’re looking at where big teams are and the support they are getting, something like that is where it’s at”.

“You can’t put a cap on the resources.

That’s a problem. I’m well aware there isn’t a hole in the ground in Laois with money, coaches and supports, you have to look at the resources. If you look at the last three teams that won All-Irelands, they are well backed, it is quality they are getting in, that is the reality, you can’t just throw money at something, you have to support the resources that are there and there is no hiding from that, we don’t have them at our disposal. We have to look at what quality resources we can get in to build on that. A couple of minds have to come together and the County Board have to sit down and see are we doing enough to get the lads over the line, that is not pointing the finger at

anyone it is just an objective question that has to be put out there”.

BRIAN LOHAN, CLARE MANAGER “We were very relieved, it was a tough struggle all day and a tough game, particularly going down to fourteen men and having to play fifty minutes with only fourteen men against that type of game and that sort of intensity that Laois bring”.

“He barely blew the whistle for the first twenty five minutes and then he sends David McInerney off ”.

“I thought we played reasonably well. We conceded three goals and anytime you concede three goals against opposition like that you’re going to be under pressure. We conceded three poor enough goals so we’ve something to work on. We’re delighted with our lads, they are working real hard in difficult circumstances against fifteen men being a man down”.

Above: Shane O’Donnell needs to develop his scoring threat after last week’s outing against Laois, says our analyst Darach Honan. Right: Stephen O’Halloran Photographs: Gerard O’Neill and Chris Copley

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

pg 35

12-11-20

Clare Echo THE

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ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE LADIES FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: ROUND 2 Compiled by Páraic McMahon

Laois win keeps season alive Laois 1-11 Clare 5-07 Venue: St Mary’s GAA Centre, Clonmel LAOIS Frees For: 25 (13/12) Wides: 5 (4/1) Scores from play: 1-05 Spread of scorers: 5 Top scorer: Mo Nerney (1-07 6f) Own kick-outs won: 11 from 17 (65%) CLARE Frees For: 12 (5/7) Wides: 5 (2/3) Scores from play: 5-04 Spread of scorers: 4 Top scorer: Chloe Moloney (2-05 3f) Own kick-outs won: 16 from 17 (94%) PLAYER WATCH - EIMEAR KEANE (CLARE) Minutes played - 50 Possessions - 10 (5/5) Passes - 10 (5/5) Short pass - 10 Hand pass - 8 (3/5)

Foot pass - 2 (2/0) Frees Won - 0 Frees Conceded - 2 Yellow Card - 1

JAMES MURRIHY, CLARE MANAGER: “WE WERE very sloppy at times, we played them last year and it was a mirror image of that when we had 2-04 on the board in ten minutes, we had something similar with 3-03 on the board. I’d be disappointed that we didn’t push on. But at the end of the day, a win is a win and I was pretty pleased with the second half performance. I thought the referee refereed us a bit harsher in that we were down to thirteen players at one stage and they had fourteen, to be fair to the girls we game managed very well and put together fifteen to twenty passes making sure that the openings came. We were clever enough to tag on the extra few scores when they got back to six points to make sure we had a sufficient distance between us and them”.

“It’s a lovely sunny evening in Clonmel and is condusive enough to playing half-decent football but we don’t know what we’re going to get on Sunday, there’s weather and there is COVID in the mix. All we can do is control what we do and make sure we get back to training on Wednesday night, we’ll be keeping an eye on the fixture and hopefully Laois will make it a battle and bring it into last ten minutes”.

“I would have to say that in the six or seven weeks that we’ve been back, Wednesday was the best training we had. The girls trained brilliantly on Wednesday and carried that into Friday which again is the sign of a good team that mentally we performed last Sunday bar the two or three silly mistakes, they were prepared to come and perform again today and I can’t credit them enough”.

Eimear Keane is kept within arms reach by Leah Tarpey last weekend in Clonmel Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

Camogie: all the pressure is on Cork SEAMUS HAYES Back in the All-Ireland senior camogie championship for the first time in six years, Clare have been handed a huge challenge as they have been drawn to face competition favourites Cork.

Adding to the severity of the task that the Banner girls face is the fact that they must travel to Pairc Ui Caoimh to face a team that has held the upperhand over Clare sides throughout the last decade.

This latest clash of the Munster rivals takes place at the well appointed Cork venue on this Saturday with a throw in time of 1pm and the game will be broadcast live on RTÉ television.

Team coach Conor Dolan accepts that Clare are facing “a huge test as

Cork have set the tone for the last ten or fifteen years”.

That said Dolan stressed “getting to the quarter final was the least I expected from Clare this year. This is where Clare should be every year and anything other than getting to the quarter finals is a failure in my eyes”.

“Yes, Cork are a serious outfit.

While they were beaten in the semi-final last year, they were installed as favourites for this year’s title from the outset”, he added.

Clare go into Saturday’s game able to call on a full squad. “We have a full squad available and the girls are going very well and are well up for this challenge. We are really looking forward to the game”, he said.

The game will be followed at 3.45 by another quarter final tie in which Waterford will take on Tipperary. Kilkenny and Galway await the winners of Saturday’s quarter

final double bill in the semi-finals.

Dolan isn’t unduly worried about having to travel to the Cork headquarters for this tie. “It’s a superb venue but at the end of the day all fields have white lines and a set of goalposts at either end. The only pity is that the parents and families of the players and our loyal supporters cannot attend the game.

“It’s a massive day for the girls.

It’s six years since we were at this stage of the competition and we have nothing to lose. All the pressure is on Cork. If we go out and enjoy it and play to our potential, there won’t be much in it at the final whistle. Training has gone well since we returned after the lockdown. The Tipperary game was the kick we needed. We have a plan and the girls are playing to it. It’s about getting the girls to believe that they are every bit as good as the others”, according to the Meelick native.

Clare will be looking to Ciara Grogan, Claire Hehir, Niamh O’Dea and Roisin McMahon in defence to limit the Cork attack’s scoring chances. Orlaith Duggan will be in midfield while up front Clare can call on the experience of team captain Laura McMahon, Chloe Morey, Maire McGrath, Eimear Kelly and Mairead Scanlan.

While Cork will wear the favourites tag, there is a buzz of excitement amongst all involved in Clare camogie this week and a belief that the Banner outfit will make the hot favourites battle all the way on Saturday.

Clare Hehir is expected to line out at fullback for Clare. Photograph: Sport Action Photography

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THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

PLANNING NOTICES Clare County Council Hazelgrove, Roslevan, Ennis, Co. Clare Take notice that Paul Conway Architects, Knockbrack, Ennistymon intend to apply to the Planning Authority of Clare County Council on behalf of David and Josephine Laflin for planning permission for development at Hazelgrove, Roslevan, Ennis, Co Clare. The development will consist of the demolition of an existing single storey conservatory, and the construction of a 34.5sqM two storey extension to the front/ west and replacement clay tile roof finish.

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

relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

Clare County Council Lack West, Kilmihil, Co. Clare.

Take notice that John Keogh is applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to alter, renovate and extend an existing cottage and outbuilding, and install a new wastewater treatment system along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in

Clare County Council Clohanmore, Cree, Co. Clare.

Take notice that Eamonn Downes & Lianne Harrison are applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to construct a new dwelling house, access road, entrance, private garage and install a new wastewater treatment system along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours

Clare County Council Leadmore West, Kilrush, Co Clare.

Take notice that Ciara Madigan & Anthony Halpin are applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to construct a new dwelling house, entrance, private garage and install a new wastewater treatment system along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL Corranroo, Kinvara, Co. Clare Take notice that Chantal McCabe intends to apply for retention permission for development at Corranroo, Kinvara, Co. Clare.

The development consists of (a) bay window, (b) orangery (c) shed and (d) retention of use of stone structure as habitable accommodation.

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

Clare County Council No. 10 Ard Ratha, Mountievers ( Mount Ivers) Sixmilebridge Co. Clare.

Take Notice that I, Corey Downes intend to apply to Clare County Council for Retention Permission for the construction of an extension to rear of my existing dwelling to comprise of livingroom as constructed on site including ancillary site works.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not

exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Aras Contae an Chlair, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or Observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee of €20 within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

Clare Co. Council Cappagh More, Barefield.

Take notice that Eoin Hennessy intends to apply for permission for development, the development consists of the construction of a slatted cubicle unit and associated site works at the above address.

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

Clare County Council No. 10 Ard Ratha, Mountievers (Mount Ivers) Sixmilebridge Co. Clare.

Take Notice that I, Corey Downes intend to apply to Clare County Council for Retention Permission for the construction of an extension to rear of my existing dwelling to comprise of livingroom as

constructed on site including ancillary site works.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Aras Contae an Chlair, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or Observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee of €20 within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

Clare County Council, Ballyvrislaun, Liscannor Co. Clare.

Take notice that P. Sheehy intends to apply to the Planning Authority for retention permission for the following works a) to retain a stand-alone residential unit and its use for short term lettings b) a storage shed along with ancillary site works at the above address.

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

Main Street, Lahinch, Co Clare Development Description: Permission for the following works a) the change of use of the existing ground floor residential area to a new commercial unit b) the construction of a new three storey rear extension which will comprise of 2no. apartments, a basement and ground floor store area for the new commercial unit c) the change of use of the existing first floor residential area into a new apartment area along with associated ancillary site works Location: Main Street, Lahinch, Co Clare Take notice that Richella McCarthy has lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P20/296.

This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the Planning Authority or in the case of a planning application accompanied by an EIS within 5 weeks of receipt of such notices by the planning authority.

Clare County Council Further Information / Revised Plans Planning Ref: P20/296

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QUIZ 39

THURSDAY, NOV 12 2020

The Clare Echo Quiz CLARE GAA 28 53 72

Which GAA club has won the 2 most Clare senior hurling championship titles Newmarket-on-Fergus Tubber Tulla

3

Which club currently holds the Clare senior hurling championship title?

Sixmilebridge Ballyea Cratloe

In what year did Clare county 4 team win their first all-Ireland hurling title?

1889 1914 1922

How many times has Clare won 6 the all-Ireland senior hurling championship?

2 3 4

The gap between Clare’s first and 7 second all-Ireland titles is the longest wait between successive

titles in senior championship history.

True or False?

When did Clare last win the 8 all-Ireland senior hurling championship?

1995 2013 2014

l 9: How many times has won the won the national hurling league?

many times has won the 9 How won the national hurling league?

4 6 1

How many times has Clare won 10 5 the Munster senior hurling championship?

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

The answers will be revealed in next weeks edition.

6. 4 7. True 8. 2013 9. 4 10. 2016

6 10 12

2008 2010 2016

When did Clare last win the national hurling league?

ANSWERS

1. 53 2. Newmarket-Om-Fergus 3. Sixmilebridge 4.1914 5. 6

many GAA clubs are in 1How Clare?

Last weeks Answers . C missing on sign . #10 missing on ambulance . Stud missing in wheel (right) . Reflector missing on Ambulance (left)

. Pole missing in background . Pass around mans neck missing (left) . Tree missing over ambulance

*Characters of all guises attended the recent Halloween walk in Shannon. Photograph: Joe Buckley