The Clare Echo 15/12/22

A taste of Christmas FLOORED FOR EIGHT HOURS...

Elderly woman lay on floor as she waited in Kilrush for ambulance

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

AN EIGHT hour wait for an ambulance was endured by a Kilrush woman.

While lying on the floor in her West Clare home, the woman was left waiting for eight hours to be transported to hospital.

During the inordinate amount of time, she was tended to by a member of the fire brigade and offduty medical staff in the vicinity.

This incident occurred in recent weeks and was highlighted by Kilkee based Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) at a meeting of the Regional

Health Forum West.

“Eight hours is not good enough for someone who needs to get into the hospital,” he told health officials.

Chief Ambulance Officer, JJ McGowan acknowledged that the response time “falls short of our standards”.

l Sarah O’Sullivan, SOS Cookies and Caroline Naughton, Sixmilebridge and Erica Minogue, Newmarket-on-Fergus enjoying the Westpark Christmas Market, Shannon Photo by Eamon Ward

Aviation exhibition takes off

NEWMARKET-ONFERGUS artist, Philip Brennan has been inspired by Shannon’s aviation history in a new display now on show at Shannon Airport. ‘Rineanna/ Shannon, Time Past’ will run for six weeks in the airport’s transit lounge. The paintings, which were influenced by a collection of photos taken at the airport from the 1930s onwards, depicts aircraft from a by-gone era and the airport environs. Philip is pictured with with daughter Orla, son Brian and granddaughters Ciara and Cealinn

Council to argue against review

A JUDICIAL review against the decision for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) of Blake’s Corner will be “vehemently” argued, the Chief Executive of Clare County Council has pledged, writes Páraic McMahon In recent weeks, an application seeking to judicially review the decision of An Bord Pleanála confirming the CPO was submitted

to the High Court. “We will be strongly contesting the basis for such a review and if we are successful in same, we will be able to move forward with the project to detailed design, tender and construction. However, if the Court allows for the decision to be judicially reviewed, then the project could be held up indefinitely

pending the outcome of the legal proceedings,” Clare County Council’s monthly management report for December outlined.

Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling stated, “There is a right of the judicial review and we will be arguing that case quite vehemently, I hope we can get to construction phase of the project next year.”

Gala dinner at Dromoland

COURTS

Chef threw cup of urine in Garda’s face

A 32 YEAR-OLD chef threw a cup of urine into the face of a Garda through a hatch when the Garda went to check on the man’s welfare at a Garda station, a court has heard, writes Gordon Deegan

In the case at Ennis District Court on Monday (December 12), Joel Lonia of no fixed abode appeared in court in connection with the assault of two Gardai while being detained at Ennis Garda Station in the early hours of Monday morning and Sunday.

The evening was a huge success and over €65,000 was raised for

No contact since Council pulled plug on Heritage sites

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

NO CONTACT has been made to Clare County Council by any Government Department or Shannon Airport Group since it announced its withdrawal from the planned transfer of Shannon Heritage absence in the absence of State funding.

This comes despite Shannon Airport Group and the Taoiseach stating in the aftermath that the local authority had been contacted.

€15m across three years is the figure required by the County Council to take over the sites but this sum has been disputed by Shannon Airport Group.

Tensions between both bodies show no signs of dissipating with conflicting accounts given in the aftermath of Friday’s announcement by the Council to pull the plug.

Shannon Airport Group in a statement to The Clare Echo said, “We have been in contact with Clare County Council and Government over the weekend to get clarity on the transfer, and we have been told that

discussions are still ongoing between the Council and Government”.

However a spokesperson for Clare County Council refuted this. “Clare County Council wishes to clarify that no communication has been received from Government since last Friday’s announcement, prior to this limited engagement has taking place between Clare County Council and national government. Despite efforts undertaking by Clare County Council to seek a response to its funding request, which was submitted in July 2022”.

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (FF) in a letter to Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND) on Wednesday stated, the Government would “continue to support the Shannon Airport Group in working towards a successful transfer of the Shannon Heritage business and heritage sites to Clare County Council as soon as possible”.

He stated that an inter-departmental group set up to consider the funding requirements was set up in May and has met

four times, the most recent of which was on October 14th.

“Since the last meeting in October, relevant Government Departments are actively continuing to engage bilaterally with a view to progressing the transfer”.

On Friday, the County Council confirmed it was withdrawing its bid, for now, to take over the ownership of three heritage sites and a retail outlet in the county currently owned by Shannon Airport Group. The local authority announced that it cannot proceed with the proposed takeover of the Clare assets of Shannon Heritage at this time without real and meaningful support from Government.

However, the Chief Executive of Clare County Council says the Local Authority remains open to further engagement on the future management and development of Shannon Heritage assets in County Clare.

As reported by The Clare Echo last week, the Council had given an indication they were prepared to walk away

with the constant passing of the buck between Government departments.

Following engagement with Elected Members, the local authority cited ongoing uncertainty around the proposed terms of the legal guarantees and funding in relation to the transfer of Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Craggaunowen Bronze Age Park, Knappogue Castle & Walled Garden, and the Cliffs of Moher Experience retail unit from Shannon Airport Group.

Workers at Shannon Heritage sites have told The Clare Echo they are not surprised with the announcement from the Council and are sympathetic to their stance. They remain frustrated with the lack of clarity from Government Departments and Shannon Airport Group.

Tánaiste and soon to be Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar (FG) seemed to issue some positivity on the need to speed up the process when questioned by Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND) in the Dáil on Thursday. See ClareEcho.ie for full story.

Giving evidence during a bail hearing for Mr Lonia, Garda Sebastian Pychynski said that it will be alleged that while Mr Lonia was being detained at Ennis Garda Station on Sunday night, a Garda on the night-shift at the station opened a hatch to a cell door and had a cup of urine thrown into his face by Mr Lonia.

During the course of the bail hearing where Gardai were opposing bail for Mr Lonia, Mr Lonia said: “I am sorry about that. I want to apologise”. Along with the alleged ‘urine’ assault, Mr Lonia is also charged with the assault of another Garda where the accused is alleged to have thrown Coca Cola into the face of second Garda’s face through the cell door hatch. Mr Lonia also apologised for the second alleged assault. Garda Pychynski said that there could be more charges brought against Mr Lonia concerning the alleged assaults

Mr Lonia was also before the court for three theft charges at the Ennis branch of Penney’s on Sunday where he is accused of stealing goods to the value of €68 that included a military jacket and hiking boots along with a public order charge near the Template Hotel in Ennis.

When charged and cautioned, Garda Pychynski said the accused replied ‘suck my d**k’ at 11.30pm on Sunday night at Ennis Garda Station. Judge Mary Larkin refused bail stating that she was not satisfied that any promises that Mr Lonia gives not to breach the law will be upheld.Judge Larkin stated, “Also the multiplicity of alleged offences over the past week shows that he is likely to comment further offences.”

In evidence, Mr Lonia said: “I have no home. I have been sleeping outside”.

Mr Lonia said: “I have been sleeping in a Dublin Garda Station and in Ennis Garda Station a number of times.” Mr Lonia has applied for accommodation to Clare County Council but without any success so far. Mr Lonia said that he had been receiving €206 per week in social welfare payments and that has now been reduced to €175. He said: “I am looking for a job. I am a chef”.

Judge Larkin remanded the accused in custody to appear via video link at Ennis District Court on Wednesday, December 14th.

Evie Flynn, Linda Kochhar and Elaine Farrell pictured as Dromoland Castle & Estate once again was the magical festive backdrop for this year’s Christmas Gala Dinner in aid of “Breast Cancer Research”. Ladies were spoiled from the moment they arrived with Christmas carols, champagne & cocktails followed by a delicious five course banquet and music in the piano bar until the early hours of the morning.

this very worthy charity

Photo by Brian Arthur

Legal advice delay ‘a joke’

CLARE’s longest serving councillor has voiced his fury at the delays associated with securing legal advice on aspects to the County Development Plan, writes Páraic McMahon

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) at the September sitting of Clare County Council requested legal advice on “the presumed legality/constitutionality of the proposal in County Development Plan to control development by the imposition of an allocation of population process”. When this had not been issued over two months later, the Lissycasey representative aired his frustrations. “There has been millions spent and I’m disappointed not to have a reply, we’re really putting ourselves at risk”.

Director of Economic Development, Liam Conneally flagged that legal opinion had been circulated via email to councillors, “I’m not sure if it’s in your inbox”. Some councillors had received the correspondence while others including Cllr Kelly were unable to access their Council email via mobile. “This is a joke, why didn’t we get it last week or a written copy with the agenda”.

Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling advised the meeting that he had mistakenly told Cllr Kelly before the meeting the legal opinion had not been received. “It’s a joke the chosen few are here,” Cllr Kelly interjected. “Can I finish,” Dowling responded, “It has arrived, not at the speed which you wanted but it has been circulated. It is prudent for councillors to digest it now and then a full robust debate can take place”.

Included in the legal opinion, The Clare Echo understands, is a stipend that the detail cannot be released to the public and thus the media. When the matter was discussed again this week, Cllr Kelly observed that the legal advice hadn’t been presented before the meeting. “I am naturally disappointed that an embargo has been put on it and the discussion of its contents, that tells its own story”.

Kilrush woman left waiting eight hours for ambulance

lAmbulance

ideally suited to such a programme.

Chief Ambulance Officer, JJ McGowan outlined, “The community paramedic programme for the Mid-West currently operates from Co Limerick. Although based in Co Limerick, the community paramedic responds to low acuity calls in Co Clare when the time response is not critical. The National Ambulance Service is currently engaged with our regulator the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) in regards to inclusion of community paramedics on the licencing register for pre-hospital emergency care in Ireland. When this is finalised it is envisaged that the expansion of the community paramedic programme will commence nationally”.

He said the response time of eight hours to the Kilrush incident “falls short of our standards”.

AN ELDERLY Kilrush woman was left waiting eight hours for an ambulance to arrive, writes Páraic McMahon. While lying on the floor in her West Clare home, the woman was left waiting for eight hours to be transported to hospital. During the inordinate amount of time, she was tended to by a member of the fire brigade and off-duty medical staff in the vicinity.

Details were recounted by Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) at a meeting of the Regional Health Forum West. “Eight hours is not good enough for someone who needs to get into the hospital,” he told health officials. He referenced the incident while seeking an update on the rollout of the community paramedic programme across Co Clare and expressed the view the case referenced was

Cllr Murphy shared his concern that “Limerick is a long way away from a lot of parts of the county” if the sole base was operating from there. “If we’re looking at it on an equity basis, look at the spread, is the base in Limerick compared to some of the places in West Clare a similar spread to other places where this is operational,” the Kilkee representative stated.

“Extensive talks” have occurred and hope to be concluded and finalised in the early part of 2023 allowing an enhancement of the programme, McGowan replied.

Samaritans here this Christmas

SAMARITANS of Ennis and Clare are reminding those in need that their helpline will be open during their darkest hours if they are lonely or struggling to cope this Christmas.

Samaritans is also calling on landmarks and buildings to light up in green to mark the Longest Night on Wednesday, December 21st. Clare County Council, Shannon Airport and Ennis Leisure Centre are among those turning green.

Volunteer and branch director, Margaret Mac Mahon, said: “We want people to know that we are available 24/7 for everyone on freephone 116 123 or email jo@ samaritans.ie. By supporting our Longest Night campaign and sharing those images and our number across social media, we hope to reach more people who may be struggling to cope.”

Any business who would like to light up in green can contact samaritansennis@ gmail.com or adminirleand@samaritans. org or find us on Twitter or LinkedIn.”

Support is out there

CLARE Suicide Bereavement Support are offering support this Christmas for people grieving the loss of a loved one who died by suicide. A Clare Suicide Bereavement Support spokesperson said -“Being aware of the difficulty of sharing feelings within the family circle, Clare Suicide Bereavement Support Volunteers are available to offer help and support. Help is only a phone call away. When you ring one of our numbers arrangements can be made to meet a Support Worker either at the Clare S.B.S. premises in the Roslevan Shopping Centre, in the caller’s home or another agreed location. The person you will meet is trained for this work and is aware that coping with feelings, following the death of a loved one, can be difficult and believe that talking about these feelings can help. The support given is confidential and free of charge and can extend over a number of meetings.”

In addition Clare S.B.S. offer a Healing Program which is a structured series of group meetings – one evening a week over eight weeks, where people find support and healing in a caring, safe and confidential environment. There is an opportunity to meet with others in a similar situation when healing is mutually given and received.

Clare Suicide Bereavement Support can be contacted at 087 3698315, 086 0565373 or www.claresuicidebereavementsupport.com

€100k win for Spars

TWO Clare lotto players have won €50,000 each, writes Páraic McMahon

On Saturday, Geraghty’s Spar in Turnpike, Ennis and Spar on Main St in Ennistymon sold two of the winning €50,000 EuroMillions tickets in the Ireland Only Raffle. This was the was the eighth of 12 draws in the National Lottery’s ’12 Draws of Christmas’ promotion. Ten players will scoop €50,000 each in every EuroMillions draw every Tuesday and Friday until December 23rd.

That’s Gouda stuff

‘We will not be using tents in Knockalisheen again’

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

USE OF tented accommodation for asylum seekers has ceased in Meelick and across the country, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has confirmed.

With Ireland enduring sub-zero weather conditions, the plight of an approximate 100 male asylum seekers sleeping in tents outside the Knockalisheen Direct Provision Centre was brought into national focus.

Since September, 13 army tents have been used to house up to 104 people seeking asylum in Ireland. An estimated 270 persons are based within the Direct Provision Centre which is the longest full-time centre for refugees in the country.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said around 20 people who have been staying in tented accommodation in Knockalisheen were moved to alternative accommodation on Friday. The tented camp in Knockalisheen was the only one still accommodating international protection applicants.

By Sunday night, alternative accommodation was found for more than 80 men who had yet to be moved. None of the men slept in tents on Sunday night, some of them were let into the recreation room of the Direct Provision Centre where one man slept with his mattress on top of a pool table. While they were in the tents, the men had been sleeping with

all their clothes on during the freezing conditions. Twelve men remained at the facility by Monday afternoon, with all departing later that evening.

Four different locations including Waterford, Dublin, Limerick and other parts of Clare had been sourced with Clare County Council, Limerick City and County Council plus Mid-West Simon involved in this effort. Clare County Council assisted with securing accommodation for the 30 of the 80 men that were not sorted initially.

Although reluctant to speak on the matter, the men said they wouldn’t wish the living conditions on their worst enemy, calling it inhuman and that it was causing sickness and frostbite.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Today with Claire Byrne, Minister Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman (GP) confirmed, “We’ve been able to move everyone out of the tents”.

Similar facilities in Westmeath and Kerry have also closed, he said, “All our use of tented accommodation has ceased”.

Current arrangements are not permanent but no return to tented accommodation is envisaged, “For some of them they will be shorter-term solutions but we will not be using the tents in Knockalisheen again”.

Minister O’Gorman pointed out that less than one per cent of the total accommodation used in emergency measures was through tents, “we use tents be-

cause of the tightness of accommodation at the time”.

Graham Clifford, founder of Sanctuary Runners Ireland, a solidarity through sport movement bringing together citizens, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees said the use of tents was deplorable. “Over the years we’ve seen it all in relation to Direct Provision. Cramped conditions, oppressive centres, inedible food, awful communication, deterioration of mental health, deaths. But keeping people in tents in freezing temperatures is lowest point. Shameful”.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Clare Immigrant Support Centre co-ordinator Orla Ní hÉilí flagged that there is a feeling of “trepidation” from the men about moving from Meelick as they had started courses which are vital to their application to be granted asylum and for some are the only consistent aspect of their daily lives. Some of them had slept on floors of City West and the Airport before, this is upending them again, it’s getting them in out of the cold but some felt quite hopeless and demoralised during the week, hopefully they can build themselves up again”.

“It hasn’t been a good time, this could have been predicted, anybody going into tents was an emergency measure, we have an awful habit in Ireland that emergency measures become the status quo very easily, we know that for years,” she said.

“We welcome and lobbied hard for the men to be housed indoors

but for some of the places they’ve gone is to emergency temporary places and there needs to be plans in the short-term and medium-term as to where they can be housed”.

Orla maintained there was a “glaring need for a refugee agency that is looking at all aspects of the asylum process and refugee world making sure human rights are being upheld at every step of the process from how their cases are conducted to their accommodation, working throughout all Govt departments on finding good housing solutions”.

Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) who flagged the issue of tented accommodation at a meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC) this month outlined that Met Éireann had said the border between Clare and Limerick was “the coldest part of Ireland” on Saturday night.

Deputy Crowe commented, “I think it is inhumane in this cold snap to have people living in tents, I don’t think it is right at any time of the year to have people sleeping in tents be they homeless, be they refugees or whoever, I just think it is wrong”.

President Michael D. Higgins admitted he was “very sad” with the situation in Co Clare. “It is something that should concern all us,” he said. “This issue in Co Clare, it shouldn’t happen anywhere. I know people will try their best but we really have to solve it and that’s it, it’s a responsibility for all of us,” the Ballycar man added.

Audrey and Linda Power, The Little Cheese Stall and Lily Flannery and Brooke O’Connell, St Finnachtas Sixmilebridge enjoying the Westpark Christmas Market, Shannon recently Photo by Eamon Ward

VTEC E-Coli outbreak leads to temporary childcare closure

Drug use by middle class ‘fuelling criminal network’

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

A CLARE senator has hit out at “middle class people” helping to support the criminal drug network through their use of recreational drugs on a social basis.

An ongoing feud in Ennis remains the focus of an ongoing Garda investigation with calls across political circles for more resources to be pumped into the Clare Garda Division.

AN OUTBREAK of verotoxigenic E coli infection (VTEC) has resulted in the temporary closure of a childcare facility in Co Clare, writes Páraic McMahon

The Department of Public Health Mid-West has confirmed to The Clare Echo that it is investigating and managing an outbreak of VTEC. VTEC is a type of gastroenteritis that causes abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and sometimes bloody diarrhoea. It can cause severe illness, particularly in children under five and the elderly. It can cause a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys can stop working properly. HUS occurs in 5-10% of VTEC cases. It can be passed from person to person, through consuming contaminated food or water or contact with farm animals or contamination in the environment.Between 2011 and 2021, the Department of Public Health Mid-West has been notified of approximately 1,250 cases of VTEC in the MidWest, with the highest number of cases (164*) in 2021. The Mid-West region (Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary) has one of the highest rates of VTEC in Ireland, and Ireland has one of the highest rates in Europe.

Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health MidWest stated that “no one was seriously impacted” following the Clare outbreak.

To protect yourself and your children from VTEC, do not allow children to attend childcare or school if they have vomiting and/or diarrhoea and should continue to stay away for 48 hours after their first normal bowel motion. Regular hand washing, cooking meat fully, thoroughly washing raw vegetables, use of separate cooking utensils and plates when handling raw and cooked meats is also advised.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) added weight to the previous call from Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to be deployed to Clare to help stamp out the drugs trade which is rampant in parts of the county.

He outlined, “We need the specialists that will target the ring-leaders, those making significant amounts of money from the sale and supply of drugs, there’s a chain of command and some of the people operating on the ground are harmless by comparison but there are people higher up the food chain that need to be targeted and we need to address that”.

Ennis is not an outlier when it comes to the presence of crime and drugs, Senator Dooley maintained. “Ennis is no different to any county town, this is happening across the country, we’ve to be careful that we don’t create the impression that Ennis is lawless because it is not, there have been a couple of incidents in every county town but drugs is a huge issue and it’s in every rural village”.

This matter is more prevalent through the commonality of drugs as a “social activity,” the Mountshannon native

claimed. “It’s important that people realise that there are middle class people who will for recreation do drugs at the weekend as part of their social activity but behind that activity whether wittingly or unwittingly they are supporting a criminal network that then creates the situation that we’ve seen here, that’s why people need to reflect on how they spend their leisure time and

what they consume”.

“It’s a nationwide problem but communities are being flooded with cheap drugs, the regular drugs and these synthetic drugs that are having a massive impact, some people will consume them and it will not affect them but others will have lives destroyed by it, we’ve got to have a broader conversation in society about what matters and what doesn’t,

a lot of sensible people think because they can handle it that they can handle the drug every now and then and that they are doing no harm but they are because they are supporting a criminal network and a regime that is making drugs freely available and others less fortunate fall into a trap and sadly that has a huge negative impact on themselves and the lives of their families”.

Mother tells judge all her children want in Santa letters is for Daddy to be home for Christmas

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

A MOTHER has told a court that all her children’s letters to Santa want this year are for their Daddy to be home for Christmas.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Ann Marie Mongans made an emotional - and unsuccessful - plea to Judge Francis Comerford for her husband, Martin Mongans (34) be allowed compassionate bail for 48 hours to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their six children.

Ms Mongans told Judge Comerford that their children wrote their Santa letters and “all they came back with was for Daddy to be able to come home for Christmas”.

Mr Mongans of College Grove, Ennis is currently on remand in custody at Limerick Prison awaiting sentence in February for his role in a feud-related violent attack after his bail was revoked last month.

Ms Mongans told Judge Comerford, “The children don’t know Daddy is in jail, they think Daddy is gone on holiday”.

The couple have six children aged 16 to three and Ms Mongans said that their four year old daughter has special needs and has a close bond with her father.Ms Mongans said that she has put something belonging to Martin with his scent underneath her daughter’s pillow as their daughter has regressed

since Mr Mongans has gone into prison. Ms Mongans told the court, “Martin has never been apart from the kids. I know he will be in jail for next Christmas”.

Counsel for Mr Mongans, Amy Nix BL stated that “the thought of the children going to see Santa and all they want this Christmas is to see their father goes to the heart of the compassion bail application”.

Asking that the court grant Mr Mongans compassionate bail to allow him Christmas with his young children, Ms Nix commented “it may be his last for a long time”.

Ms Nix said that Mr Mongans has never been in prison before and is struggling, is low and is finding it

difficult.

However, Judge Comerford refused the compassionate bail application after stating that he can’t see how it would be appropriate to grant bail as Mr Mongans “has shown an inability to comply with bail conditions”. Judge Comerford made his ruling after Gardai objected to Mr Mongans securing bail.

In evidence, Det Sgt John Casey said that “we have 12 occasions where there have been breaches of bail and I have no confidence that Mr Mongans can adhere to bail”.

Det Casey said that Mr Mongans has previously breached curfew conditions “and if he is out roaming about at night while a feud is ongo-

ing, that is most concerning”.

Det Casey stated, “This man has an inability to adhere to his bail conditions”. The detective said that Garda concerns could not be allayed over Mr Mongans securing bail by any conditions.

Mr Casey said that Mr Mongans has pleaded guilty to an endangering charge of discharging a firearm and throwing an incendiary device from November 22nd 2021 at Pearse Avenue, Cloughleigh, Ennis.

Det Casey said that Mr Mongans has had his fate in his own hands because he can’t comply with bail and has found himself in custody of his own volition.

very proud day for me and my family’

CLARE’S newest councillor has expressed his hope that his experience in businesses and working with communities will stand to him.

Kildysart native Tom O’Callaghan became Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) on Monday evening after he was co-opted to Clare County Council. He fills the seat vacated by Mark Nestor (FF) who left politics to join the priesthood and will assume his spots on the Ennis Municipal District, Social Development Strategic Policy Committee and Active Ennis.

His supporters gathered in the public gallery of Áras Contae an Chláir including Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF), Francie Daly, Seamus O’Sullivan, Antoinette Considine, his wife Marie and son Darragh.

He becomes the fifth co-option of this Council term following in the footsteps of Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF), Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF), Susan Crawford (GP) and Cllr Liam Grant (GP).

Addressing Monday’s meeting, he said he was “extremely privileged” on “a very proud day for me and my family”.

Tom wished Nestor “every happiness, I’ve no doubt he will keep Ennis and Clare in his prayers”. He admitted he was looking forward to the challenge, “every councillor has something unique to bring, I hope my experiences in business and community will stand to me. I am a team player, I know we have to work together for the people of Clare.

“We have many challenges, housing, health, the rising cost of living, challenges to trade and businesses but there are more positives, our tourism, our airport, our heritage, music, sport, agriculture, education, health”.

Proposing the co-option of O’Callaghan, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) stated, “Tom is a very successful businessman, he is married to Marie Enright who hails from a strong Fianna Fáil family”. Daly quipped, “by proposing Tom today I have no doubt I could be putting my own career in doubt. I wish Tom every success but in May 2024 I may not be saying the same”.

Words of encouragement from Tom during the dramatic local election count of 2014 were recalled by Cllr Clare Colleran

Molloy (FF).

“The support of family in such an endeavour for what Tom is now undertaking is very important, Marie, Darragh and all the Fianna Fáil family are lending their support”.

The Quin native added, “I’ve no doubt Tom will do his utmost and serve our best interests. I look forward to working with you for many years to come”.

Lissycasey’s Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) described the Kildysart native as “my old friend” and outlined, “he is a man of vision, he has set out his aims in print, he is one of the best known new councillors to us all because of his constant emails.

“Every member of Cabinet knows him and so do the opposition. He has a big challenge in replacing Mark Nestor”.

Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) predicted, “he will be a big asset to the county”.

Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling commented, “All I can hope is you will be less trouble than your namesake. We wish you well, you will have our full respect and support for period ahead”.

l PROUD: Antoinette Considine and Cllr Tom O’Callaghan Photo by Joe Buckley

‘A

Seventy per cent of road network gritted with salt during cold snap

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

1,400 TONNES OF SALT has been used in gritting roads across Co Clare in the past week as part of efforts to minimise the risk to road users during the current cold snap.

Weather forecasts have predicted the coldest night of the year will occur this week with Met Éireann having already issued a Status Orange low temperature/ice warning for Co Clare from Wednesday right through to midday on Friday.

Clare County Council has activated its winter service plan with its severe weather assessment team monitoring the situation and co-ordinating an appropriate response. This team has attended meetings of the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG).

Supported by Mid-West Simon, the local authority also has a weather initiative in place where a number of additional temporary bed places are available during severe weather conditions. “These extra spaces are being availed of by a number of rough sleepers. All rough sleepers that we engage with are aware of the weather initiative and our Homeless Action Team is engaging with all to encourage them to take up these offers of bed spaces during the cold spell,” a spokesperson for the Council told The Clare Echo

National secondary, most regional and some of the busier local roads are salted twice a day

by the Council since last Wednesday (December 7th). In this period 1,400 tonnes of salt has been used with the salt stock currently being replenished. “The Winter Maintenance team have been working at full capacity and this work is supplemented by Municipal Districts staff who are addressing local issues. Where additional resources have been available problem lo-

cations have been prioritised and addressed”.

There was poor preparation in advance of the conditions, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) maintained.

“I must say local roads are so important, some regional roads were not gritted. A bus went off the road, another bus skidded somewhere else, a milk truck couldn’t get up the hill in Annagh, it shouldn’t hap-

pen. It was an emergency and it was well publicised in advance that we would have a bad weekend, I’d hope it would never happen again,” he added while pointing out the amount of school concerts taking place across the week.

With school buses and public transport not operating in parts of West Clare despite schools remaining open, Cllr Cillian Murphy

(FF) flagged that on Monday morning, “it meant that many people had to drive their children in to school today ironically putting much more traffic on an untreated and very slippery road”.

Similar concerns were voiced by Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) who stressed some rural roads were “particularly affected” but were not getting the same treatment as the main arteries when it game to getting gritted.

Resources are being deployed “to the best of our ability,” Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling stressed. In West Clare, the gritting of road commences at 7pm in the evening and 4am in the morning he told councillors. “It will continue and be intensified as much as we can. With the best will in the world we will try cover as much as we can, it doesn’t mean every patch of tarmac will be gritted. If there is a particular black ice spot that ye identify please let us know”.

John Leahy of the Council’s roads department confirmed that not all regional roads were being treated. Seven drivers were treating roads over the weekend and the figure increased to ten in recent days. “It is a very difficult situation,” he admitted, “We are going through an awful lot of salt but we have an adequate stock of salt in place. Stick to the priority routes or main roads if you have to drive. We are salting seventy percent of the road network at the moment and we’re at capacity”.

Graduation presentation

l SAFETY FIRST: The winter maintenance team have been working at ‘full capacity’ Photo by John Mangan

Katlyn Fitzpatrick of Ennis, Emma O Dwyer of Thurles Tipperary, Aine Bridgeman of Shanagolden Limerick and Muireann Tobin of Newcastlewest Limerick (all Nurses) pictured as they were some of the newly qualified Nurses and midwives celebrated the competition of their training at the graduation medal presentation at UL Hospitals Group, in University Hospital

Limerick Photo by Brian Arthur

‘I bottled it with Rose Hynes’

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SHANE Ross has admitted he “bottled it” when it came to trying to end Rose Hynes’ tenure as Chairperson of the Shannon Airport Group and claimed had he pushed the matter it could have brought down the Government.

New Quay native Rose chaired the Shannon Aviation Authority (SAA) from November 2012 and later became the first Chair of Shannon Group when it was established two years later.

Her five year term was extended for an additional twelve months by then Minister for Transport, Shane Ross (IND).

Writing in his memoir, ‘In Bed With The Blueshirts’, Ross revealed that his decision was influenced by the then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar (FG) with the Fine Gael leader contacted by Ms Hynes when she was informed her contract would not be extended.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Shane who served as a Senator for 30 years recounted that he and Rose “were not bosom partners”.

He said, “I thought that Rose Hynes should retire, I thought she had been long enough moving in the various boardrooms of Ireland without distinction including the Bank of Ireland during the time when it was not behaving in a way which was optimum, I felt she was very much favoured by Fine Gael in various appointments and still is by the way. I wasn’t going to sack her on the spot but when the opportunity came for her not to be

reappointed it was an ideal opportunity for her to resign and go do other things”.

“Blatantly, she was a political woman, she was favoured by Fine Gael, I had a tussle with her which I suppose I lost. I told her that I wasn’t going to reappoint her, I’ve never come across anyone like her, she fought like a tigress to be reappointed. She made out a very strong case and then got quite aggressive or definite about it, we had various contacts and I told her no. What happened was she got onto Leo Varadkar (then Taoiseach), a direct line.

“The last time, I told her that’s it, within a very short period of minutes the Taoiseach was onto me and he said basically ‘Rose Hynes you’re not going to reappoint her’ and I said no, to be fair he didn’t absolutely insist or say it was a matter I was going to insist that you do but he asked if I had anybody else in mind and that she was good. I bottled it I suppose because I was fighting on so many fronts and I didn’t want to fight with him on this one so I gave her another year, that’s what happened, I didn’t want to but I did. Now she has turned up on the Irish Aviation Authority, another one”.

In January 2021, she was appointed interim chair of the IAA last January without a publicly-advertised competition process.

Her new role was not merited in the opinion of Ross, “I can’t understand the admiration for either her abilities which I’ve never seen any

sign of whatsoever and certainly didn’t see any when she was in charge of Shannon Group or what hold she has over the Blueshirts, I don’t believe it but she does have a very good line in there and always has had”.

Her eight year stint as Shannon Group Chairperson did hold back Shannon Airport, he believed. “The ap- pointment of Pádraig Ó Céidigh was a very good one, his story has still to be told why he pulled out so early, I’ve a fair idea why it happened but I think he should have been kept there, he had a lot of ideas, he was a fresh face and certainly wasn’t a blueshirt, it’s a pity he didn’t stay on but he did get out because he was disillusioned”.

When contacted by The Clare Echo, Ms Hynes insisted, “I am not going to comment”.

During his four years as Minister for Transport, the former Dublin Rathdown TD only visited Shannon Airport once. He attempted to defend this statistic when speaking to The Clare Echo, “If I was to visit every airport, every airport authority, every train station, it was air, sea, every port, you just couldn’t do that, I only came once in four years, that is absolutely true but I came at the request of local representatives but I was in touch with them on a daily basis, I was pro-Shannon Airport actually but what use would it be me coming down here every week, I knew what was going on, I did come down and I think the reality about Shannon was that whatever was said

and whatever crisis occurred Shannon was going to always remain open, you can have no fears on that political score, the question is was it being well run or well directed, I didn’t think it was being well directed from the Chair, I didn’t have to come to Shannon to tell them that, they knew”.

Given that he said he “bottled it” when it came to Rose Hynes, does Shane feel he let Shannon down?

“I don’t think so because I think quite honestly if that was the wish of the Government was I going to risk either bring the Government down or the Ministry over one appointment, I don’t think so, it was another year but it was the wish of the Government and Fine Gael were the majority in Government as you know. I think there was a lot of things wrong with Shannon, Rose Hynes wasn’t the only thing wrong with Shannon at the time but the commitment to Shannon was absolute, the commitment and dissatisfaction of the Board was what was there”.

When asked what were the other issues that persisted at Shannon during his term as Minister for Transport, he said, “I think it probably needed more funding for a longer period of time, there should have been more enterprising things done down here, diversification was important but it wasn’t particularly well run”.

Sinn Féin let Violet-Anne run because would be elected, claims to Mary

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SINN FÉIN allowed Violet-Anne Wynne to stand as a candidate in the 2020 General Election because they did not believe she would win a seat, the author of a biography on Mary Lou McDonald has said.

Former Business Editor of The Sunday Independent, Shane Ross has recently released ‘Mary Lou McDonald: A Republican Riddle’ which is a biography on the Sinn Féin leader and the politician many pundits believe will be the country’s first female Taoiseach.

Securing 15 extra seats in the 2020 General Election was a major success for Sinn Féin. Ross admitted that no political analyst has been able to detail if this was a vote for Mary Lou more than the party.

Ross who lost his seat as TD in that election recalled, “They weren’t showing real signs, they had done real badly in the local election

beforehand. I think it was probably support for the brand, you’ve people here who elected Violet-Anne Wynne and I think those people were voting for Sinn Féin rather than the candidate.

“You had one candidate elected in Kildare and she was on holidays, that must be voting for the brand, I think that’s what is what happened, the brand got really strong in the late stages of the campaign, some of that was Mary Lou of course, she was on a high at the time and Sinn Féin suddenly had a late surge which might more naturally have been expected to go to the Greens but it didn’t, it was a two fingers to the major parties vote which she capitalised on”.

Although he was unable to get an interview with Mary Lou for the book, Shane did speak with Clare TD, Violet-Anne Wynne (IND) who resigned from the party this February citing a campaign of “psychological warfare”.

Deputy Wynne spoke of a feeling of being snubbed by McDonald stating that her feminism was “a façade” with the book also revealing that Sinn Féin paid the rent debt owed by the Kilrush woman.

Shane told The Clare Echo, “It’s always very difficult to know who is friends with who in Sinn Féin because they are a very secretive party, she didn’t know a lot of the candidates at all well the last time and they all went and got elected, some of them including Violet-Anne Wynne couldn’t get elected in the local elections but they suddenly had the Sinn Féin brand and Mary Lou behind them so they all got elected anyway and I think that is going to be a difficulty for them, it shows in the Dáil to some extent in

l SIT DOWN MEETING: Pictured L-R Rose Hynes, Chairman Shannon Group and Minister Shane Ross

Photo by Arthur Ellis

they didn’t believe she Lou’s biographer

that the party is currently represented by seven or eight key people who are really able and the party is very proud of, then there’s all these people who are the surprise successes who they may not have wanted, some of them may get deselected.

“Obviously in this area, there’s going to be a Sinn Féin candidate who will be challenging Violet-Anne Wynne. Violet-Anne wasn’t expected to win, she was a surprise selection and there’s a little bit of evidence that some of those who were elected, not her, that the party might rather if they were not elected at all, a couple of people have been uncontrollable”.

He believed that the party allowed the Offaly native to stand in Clare despite knowing of her rent difficulties because they believed she would not

win a seat.

“They let her get the nomination because they didn’t think she would get elected and they just wanted to have someone on the ticket, they never expected it to happen.

“Violet-Anne’s problems with not having paid her rent became apparent just before the election and she was still elected, she topped the poll which shows the strength of the brand, it was unstoppable, they weren’t very selective about the candidates they put in, they were surprised”.

Jacqueline O’Brien

l SURPRISE: (left) Violet-Anne Wynne TD (IND) and Sinn Féin Cllr Donna McGettigan pictured at the GE2020 count

Photo by John Mangan

COFFEE MORNING

A CHRISTMAS coffee morning for Ennis and Clare Samaritans will be held at Violet-Anne Wynne’s constituency office, 64 Parnell St, Ennis V95 K33H, on Friday, December 16 from 10am to 1pm. All are welcome, raffle on the day. Feel free to bring some treats! Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Freephone 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org.

RUAN CHRISTMAS FAIR

It appears that plans to have Daniel O’Donnell open the Ruan Christmas fair on Saturday evening have fallen through. It was hoped that Majella would judge the best cake on the night but alas that now will not happen. This won’t deter Ruan’s best bakers from exhibiting their wares and there will be quality and quantity available for the evening’s bargain hunters. Indeed those bargain hunters will be treated to options on all kinds of treats for the Christmas season. Anything from a bale to a blancmange might be on show. Don’t be late. Doors open after evening mass ci 8:30.

SANTA VISIT

On December 18 Saint Nicholas will visit Ukrainian children from 11:00-13:00 in the Civic Room, Buttermarket Building, Drumbiggle, Ennis,V95 N1NR. Ennis drama club "Ptashka" and Clare Local Development Company present an interactive theatrical action "St. Nicholas Workshop". A performance, workshops, sweets, gifts and, of course, a meeting with your favourite saint Saint Nicholas.

FESTIVE LIGHTS

COME along and enjoy the fantastic festive lights at Gerry Keane's home in Ashfield Park opposite the Auburn Lodge Hotel. The lights will be turned on each evening and you are all invited to visit and support the Samaritans, no donation is too small.

50 years of Fergus Bridge Club

Simone reprises role in BBC show

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

ENNIS’ SIMONE KIRBY will be reprising her role as Mary Malone in the third series of he HBO/BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

Simone made her debut as Mary in season two which aired last year and is back for the final run

of episodes which began on HBO in the US earlier this month (December 5th) and commence on the BBC this Sunday (December 18th). Cast members in clude James McA voy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Her char acter, Mary is a former nun who

becomes an astrophysicist and neuropsychologist investigating how dark matter affects human consciousness.

It is in this capacity she meets the main character Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), a dimension-hopping orphan whose fate is

bound up with that of the Magisterium.

Ironically, Kirby was already familiar with Pullman’s novels. During her twenties, she first came across them, at a time when she was contemplating the meaning of life.

The books look at religion, atheism and spirituality but is set in a multiworld fantasy inspired by CS Lewis’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

St Clare’s get run ready

After first completing a degree in art, Simone went through the studios of the Gaiety School of Acting.

She then grabbed attention as Geraldine in ‘Pure Mule’ in 2005 with other credits including playing Oonagh in the Ken Loach film ‘Jimmy’s Hall’ and more recently ‘Hidden Assets’ which was a ratings success for RTÉ.

Park & ride suggested

“BOTTLENECK traffic” in the county town has prompted one local councillor to seek the development of a park and ride scheme on the outskirts of Ennis, writes Páraic McMahon.

At this month’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) asked that the possibility of “purchasing or leasing land close by to the town of Ennis” be examined for use as a pilot scheme for a park and ride centre.

Such a move to acquire or develop a site would require a nice source of funding, senior executive officer Leonore O’Neill explained. She said

the Ennis MD “will continue to explore the possibility of purchasing or leasing land for the provision of car parking”.

“It’s always funding which is the problem,” Cllr Daly lamented. A county councillor since 1999, he remarked, “I’ve never seen Ennis as bad in recent times with traffic, it’s bottleneck every day of the week”.

Ongoing works associated with public realm upgrades in the town centre have been attributed to the congestion experienced in parts of Ennis particularly the Mill Rd, Abbey St, Carmody St and the Parnell St car park.

Staff and pupils from St Clare's special school preparing for the annual Christmas motorcycle run and bucket collection taking place in Ennis this Sunday (18th). The run starts at Donnelans Centra on Lahinch road 12 noon with regestration from 11.30. All details on Facebook.

Fergus Bridge Club celebrated their 50th Anniversary last week in the Old Ground Hotel. Picture includes two of the founding members –Carmel O’Doherty & Bernie Barrow

Extra lighting may cause safety issues at school

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

INSTALLING additional public lighting adjacent to a West Clare school may result in traffic safety issues, officials in Clare County Council have warned.

Citing the interests of “public health”, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) called for a public light be installed adjacent to Clondrinagh National School, he was supported in this bid by Cllr Shane Talty (FF).

Located on the L-2150 local primary road, senior executive engineer in the West Clare Municipal District,

Alan Kennelly flagged that Clondrinagh NS was situated “where the maximum speed limit, in this case 80km/h applies”.

He referenced previous guidance from the roads and transportation department of the local authority “that there are road and traffic safety issues with providing additional public lighting columns outside speed-restricted areas where the maximum speed limit applies”.

Public lighting engineer in the Council, Pat Lynch advised “The ESB pole immediately across the school has a transformer on it thus can-

not be used to mount a public street light. The ESB poles in the area carry a 10kv line and these poles are also unsuitable for mounting public lighting”.

Traffic movements at Clondrinagh were brought into focus by Cllr Kelly, “it’s on a junction therefore it’s not a high speed limit,” he asserted. “I’ve been speaking to someone since and they’ve a former ESB pole if a light can be put up on it,” Kelly said. “It is one of two small schools in a rural area,” he said, while pointing to declining enrolment numbers in certain areas of West Clare.

Miniter men scoop sports scholarships

Kilrush brothers Joseph and Darragh Miniter recently received sports athletics scholarships from the University of Limerick. They are both currently studying post-primary teaching at the university and are past pupils of Kilrush Community School and CBS Ennistymon

Restrictions blamed for Moveen flooding

FLOW restrictions have been blamed for the “continuous flooding” of the road leading to Loop Head, writes Páraic McMahon Road improvements from Bella Co-Op to Tullig Cross have been requested by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) who also wants the local authority “to investigate the cause of continuous flooding at Geata Buí and flooding at Moveen near Dinan’s Bridge”.

Inclusion of the R-487 between the Kerry Agri Shop at Bella Cross to Tullig Cross in the current three year draft roadworks programme was confirmed by senior executive engineer in the West Clare Municipal District, Alan Kennelly who was hopeful for its completion in 2023.

Clare County Council has carried out “extensive drainage works in the last three years in the Moveen area,” he stated.

“We maintain the drains along the public road network. Clare County Council are not responsible for maintaining drains in private lands, and I suspect that some of the flooding issues at Moveen are caused by flow restrictions in drains that are not maintained by

Clare County Council”.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the West Clare MD, Cllr Keating remarked, “I mentioned it before, this is a very busy road and it’s the road to Loop Head, we always have a bit of flooding, we put up a sign when we have a flooding and then take it down. This time I think we should do a bit of work before we take it down”.

Keating encouraged local authority officials to engage with local farmers, “it is in their interest for it to improve, they can help with drainage.

“The best man to talk to farmers in West Clare is a Kerryman, maybe we could arrange something to get the drain cleared and then we would have no more flooding. I hope 2023 will see it being done”.

Support was also voiced by Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) who emphasised how any delay in getting a sign out to notify motorists of flooding along the road is putting them at risk.

“The condition of the road can get to a state in a couple of hours and if it’s flooded people are heading into a potential hazard”.

Baby Conor helps launch RNLI appeal

Kilrush RNLI Volunteer lifeboat crewmembers Liezel Brand and Pa Ryan with their new baby Conor at Kilrush Lifeboat Station.

The RNLI has launched its Christmas lifeboat appeal at RNLI.org/ Xmas, as the charity asks for help to continue its lifesaving search and rescue work on Irish waters. The callouts Liezel and Pa go on would not be possible without donations from the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed by lifeboat crews all year round.

“Having first-hand experience of losing someone close to me to drowning and not having their body to bring home, it drives me on in my volunteering. When I first joined the lifeboat and I was doing my training, I had a callout which sadly involved a recovery from the water. My training immediately kicked in and I knew what to do. Every person we launch to, is a loved one and our station take that responsibly seriously. It is what I would want for my loved ones,” Liesel said.

Photo by RNLI/Kilrush

SHANNON NEWS

in association with

Twice weekly Liverpool flight to begin in March

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SHANNON Airport is to gain a new service to Liverpool from March. Ryanair have announced three new routes from Liverpool John Lennon Airport for next year including a twice weekly service to Shannon Airport. Flights to Ibiza (once a week) and Madrid (three times a week) are also included for their summer schedule in Liverpool. The airline has also added a fourth aircraft in Liverpool.

Flights will take off on March 26th for the Shannon to Liverpool service which will operate on Fridays and Sundays, departing at 08:20 and

21:30 respectively. Shannon will be the fourth Irish destination from Liverpool on Ryanair flights when the service commences.

Last month, Ryanair announced the addition of Naples and Porto to its summer schedule from Shannon. The new routes to Naples in Italy and Porto in Portugal brings the airline’s total number of routes to and from Shannon to 26 and marks 35% capacity growth on its schedule last year. The new twice weekly services will run on Wednesdays and Sundays for both destinations.

Over 180 flights per week will be operated by Ryanair at Shannon Airport next year, the airline will have three planes based in Co Clare.

Dún Áras speeding to be surveyed by council

COMPLAINTS from residents have led to a commitment from the local authority to undertake a speed survey on Dún Áras Avenue, writes Páraic McMahon

An appeal for speed survey measures was issued by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) on foot of representations from local residents.

“Residents are complaining that there is speeding on that road” on Dún Áras Avenue leading down to the Ballycasey Craft Centre, she flagged.

Shannon Municipal District’s senior executive engineer, Tom Mellett said a speed and volume survey would be arranged for the location. “This will deter-

mine level of user, types of vehicles, speed and peak periods of activity by motorised vehicles. Should the data show an issue, a design will be prepared to alleviate the situation”.

Cllr McGettigan said she was pleased with the reply from the Council, the proposal was seconded by Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND).

Junior Chess Champion

Shannon’s unit of the Order of Malta has celebrated fifty years serving the local community with a special event held in Treacy’s Oakwood Hotel. Medals and certificates were presented to volunteers and locals for their contributions over the years Photo by Joe Buckley

Ilankathir Vanjinathan (ILAN), won the 2022 Munster Junior (under 8) Chess Championship in Ennis recently.

The St Tola’s first class student won all six of his matches in the tournament.

Order of Malta mark five decades of service

Christmas at The Rós Café

CHRISTMAS MARKET

MALACHY’S Christmas Market will be held next Thursday (December 22nd) in Quin. Over 20 vendors will be selling crafted homemade products with food and drink also available.

Attendees have been encouraged to wrap up and walk to the market which begins at 7pm and will remain open until late. Entertainment will also be on offer outside Malachy’s Bar.

CARIFF’s planned social housing scheme has met an early hiccup with the construction date delayed, writes Páraic McMahon

Although it was stated by Clare County Council’s Director of Social Development which has responsibility for housing, Anne Haugh at the November meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District that construction on the €6m social housing scheme in Scariff would commence before Christmas with the Department of Housing putting pressure on Councils not to delay projects. She has now confirmed that the December

start on site will not happen.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the County Council, Ms Haugh admitted that “post-tender administration” had delayed the planned start. She said that the Council now intends to award the contract for the proposed eighteen unit development in January and complete the signing in the New Year.

This “post-tender administration” is the legal checks associated carried out by the Council on the prospective tender, The Clare Echo understands.

Cllr Pat Burke (FG) told The Clare Echo, “I’m disappointed with the

delay, we were led to believe back in the summer that things would be well underway by now”.

Social housing delayed in Scariff S

With the one month delay from December 2022 to January 2023, the local authority will still work towards its targeted completion date of the first quarter of 2024.

Developments carried out by local authorities are often referred to as ‘Part 8 developments’ which is in reference to Part 8 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, which sets out the procedure for carrying out such developments. Such works would include developments such as

Footpath works in Tulla may have paused but funds remain in place

WORKS are ongoing for the remaining section of footpath improvements in Tulla, writes Páraic McMahon

Active Travel funding was received by the Killaloe Municipal District in 2021 “to improve strategic pedestrian routes, access to schools and permeability links throughout Tulla,” acting senior executive engineer Derek Troy outlined.

Footpath works have been completed on the Gort Rd to link with the new social housing scheme and on the Court-

house Rd including the newly extended footpath and public lighting to the Athletics Club.

Troy outlined that remaining sections of improvements on the Main St and Chapel St would commence this month. Approval is needed before the two proposed pedestrian crossings adjacent to St Mochulla’s National School can begin. Neither of these aspects have yet to begin.

He explained, “the works proposed at the junction of Chapel Street and Main Street

requires significant design and planning in order to meet the NTA requirements but it is expected that these works will begin in March 2023”.

Separate works not funded by the Active Travel programme are the replacement and upgrade of the footpaths at Lower O’Reilly Park. They are scheduled to commence in the coming weeks with funding from the General Municipal Allocation contribution of councillors and from IPB Public Liability Works.

Updates had been sought by Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) and Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF). Locally there was “concerns when the work wasn’t happening that the money would be used elsewhere,” Cllr O’Callaghan admitted. “It’s ready to go, it just needs a blueprint drawn up. When you have IPB giving funding and involved it is good. There will be a lot of good work done in the next couple of months,” the Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe MD predicted.

Creating landmark experience at ‘can also slow down drivers’

Senior executive engineer in the West Clare Municipal District, Enda MacNamara outlined, “The area office will request the Road Design Office to review this junction and propose a revised design”.

An opportunity exists as part of this piece of work, Cllr Garrihy believed. “Most of us will know this iconic junction, it is one of the most prominent and famous landscapes coming from Corofin and the Burren”.

He recalled a recent motion before Clare County Council by Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) to name roundabouts in the county after high-profile persons.

“We have an opportunity here, we spoke in the Council Chamber about the need to leverage roundabouts by naming them after famous people.

“This is the junction which takes you to Carron, to the Michael Cusack Centre and deep into the Burren, this is an opportunity to deal with a dodgy junction but to create a landmark experience coming from Corofin and into Carron to slow you down. When you’re doing the design, I think there’s an opportunity not just to do road safety and sort out the junction but to take advantage of the iconic location”. .

the construction of houses, roads, swimming pools, public toilets and more.

Part 8 approval has been granted for the Scariff social housing scheme with the tender assessment for construction complete.

At the Killaloe MD meeting last month, the Director detailed that the successful tender had been notified.

Clare County Council in November 2020 lodged plans for the scheme which will be called ‘Droichead Nua’ and will be located at the Feakle Road in Ballyminoge, Scariff which is to be called ‘Droichead Nua’.

POETRY BOOK LAUNCH

ANNE Donnellan, originally from Shanaway Road, outside Ennis launched her first poetry collection “Witness” recently.

Though she has lived and worked in Galway for over 40 years, Anne’s poetry is inspired largely by her childhood memories of growing up in Clare. Her poetry has been published in several publications including literary journals and newspapers.

Celebrated poet Moya Cannon said: “Anne captures the texture, grit, music and affections of childhood in the countryside of County Clare.

“It is a rummage in the deep pockets of memory and a salvaging of wonders”

Fellow Galway Poet Kevin Higgins said: ”Anne Donnellan’s poems give us quirky and irresistible glimpses of people who are largely written out of contemporary Irish poetry’s official version of itself. Her poems are rich with guttural wit.

“Donnellan does for the people (past and present) of the townlands of her native County Clare a latter-day version of what Kavanagh did for his Monaghan.”

Witness is now available from the Ennis Book Shop and Banner Books Ennistymon and Kilrush.

CREATION of a landmark experience can also slow down drivers in North Clare, writes Páraic McMahon

A review of the junction at Lemenagh Cas-

tle “with a view to putting a suitable and attractive design and plan in place for this high profile location,” was requested by Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG).

Local whispers have suggested the castle is “haunted,” Cllr Garrihy flagged. He quipped that Council staff would need to be wary “if there’s a feeling of extra cold in the air”.

A wonderful debut collection of poems, this book offers a living window into rural Irish life.

The poems are pared down and beautiful. It would make a lovely Christmas stocking filler.

North Clare

l ACTIVE TRAVEL: Tulla village Photo by John Mangan

SIA responds to CMO Annual Report

THE Stove Industry Association (SIA) welcomes the publication today of the Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report 2022 which gives a balanced and far-reaching commentary on the topic of air pollution and air quality.

Professor Whitty’s report, which the SIA was pleased to be able to contribute to, recognises that all forms of domestic heating cause some pollution, and recommends that for those that choose to burn wood or solid fuel it is important to burn dry, Ready to Burn certified fuel in a modern Ecodesign and Defra exempted stove. By doing so the associated emissions can be reduced by a factor of 9 compared to an open fire.

The report states that air pollution emissions can be reduced by: “… using modern, less polluting stoves and burning wood that is dry”. It goes on to note that: “For air pollution emissions, there is substantial difference between the different open fire and stove designs, the age of the appliance and how well maintained it is, and the moisture content of the wood, for those who want to burn wood.”

Andy Hill, chair of the SIA, commented: “In this Report the CMO and his team have considered a wide range of contributors to air pollution from industry, transport, and transboundary sources, as well as domestic solid

fuel heating. We are pleased that the report recognises the huge advances in stove appliance technology that have been driven by the Ecodesign regulations and that it calls for the Clean Air Act requirements for smoke control areas to be properly adhered to. The report also highlights potentially ground-breaking new technology in some industries, and, similarly, the stove industry continues to develop and invest in new technology to reduce emissions even further.”

The UK stove industry engaged early with the Ecodesign regulations, with stoves available for sale that met the Ecodesign emissions and efficiency criteria many years before the implementation date on 1st Jan 2022.

In a drive to go even further, an independent certification scheme to allow consumers and legislators to easily identify the least emitting and most efficient stoves was launched in 2020. The clearSkies Mark Certification Scheme is administered by Kiwa Ltd, an accredited test laboratory, certification body and Government appointed Conformity Assessment Body.

Andy added: “Already as an industry we have been looking at improving the emissions and efficiency performance of wood burning stove beyond the requirements of Ecodesign. A clearSkies certified level

5 appliance offers almost a 30% reduction in emissions and higher efficiency than the minimum legal requirements set out within the Ecodesign Regulation. All clearSkies Level 3 and above appliances have also been verified as having Defra exemption for use in Smoke Control Areas."

The report recognises that the reasons for burning solid fuel in the home are varied with Professor Whitty noting that these include “aesthetic as well as practical, ecological or economic reasons”. Andy Hill notes: “Burning sustainably sourced wood fuel is currently the most cost-effective low carbon heating available*. With increasing electricity and gas prices and more power outages being experienced during extreme weather events, consumers are choosing to be able to guarantee that they can heat their homes without relying on electricity or gas. The comfort that a modern wood burning stove brings to owners is significant and multi-faceted; it provides a familial focal point and primarily heats the space you need it to, you have the comfort of knowing that you can stay warm in the event of a power cut, and by burning sustainably sourced wood for heat you are displacing higher carbon intensive fuels such as oil, gas and electricity thus reducing your carbon footprint.”

GREEN CLARE

Clare County Council launch healthier and greener Christmas campaign

CLARE County Council’s Healthy Clare and Greener Clare teams have joined forces to deliver a five-week ‘Healthy and Greener Christmas and New Year’ campaign. The campaign will launch on Monday, 12th December, 2022, and will continue until Sunday, 15th January, 2023.

The weekly themes of the campaign are: 1. Reducing your Food Waste Week; 2. Bring Your Reusable Water Bottle Week; 3. Creatively Upcycling Week; 4. Use Less Chemicals at Home Week; 5. QUIT Tobacco Littering Week.

The purpose of the campaign is to promote healthier and greener actions over the Christmas and New Year season, featuring top tips and advice to benefit both our health and the environment.

The campaign can be viewed by visiting www. yoursay.clarecoco.ie/healthy-greener-christmas or by following Clare County Council, Healthy Clare, and Greener Clare on social media.

Dena McGrath, Healthy Clare Coordinator, Clare County Council, said: “I am delighted to work in conjunction with our Environment Department’s Greener Clare team on this campaign. There is an intrinsic link between good health and wellbeing and the environment. For example, the benefits of upcycling go far beyond the environment around us. Being creative can improve our mental wellbeing too.”

Through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), these links are very apparent. This awareness campaign is not only relevant to SDG 3 – ‘Good Health and Well Being’’, but it also has strong connections to SDG 11 – ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’; SDG 12 – ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’; SDG 13 – ‘Climate Action; SDG 14 - Life Below Water’; SDG 15 – ‘Life on Land’; and SDG 17 – ‘Partnerships for the Goals’.

Karen Foley, Environmental Awareness Officer, Clare County Council, said: “Christmas is a time

of year that generates a lot of waste. By managing our waste responsibly and taking steps to prevent, reduce and reuse this Christmas, we can reduce our carbon footprint and help preserve our earth’s limited natural resources.

“Meal planning, for example, ensures healthy meals and snacks are there no matter how busy things get. However, meal planning is also important to help reduce food waste. Food waste is a significant contributor to climate change, generating around 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”

This webpage is also a go-to resource that will detail Clare County Council Recycling Centres’ and Transfer Stations’ opening hours over the Christmas period. A carload of recyclable waste brought to Ballyduffbeg, Lisdeen, Shannon, Scariff, and Ennis costs as little as €5.00. It will also detail bottle/bring bank locations.

Maria Carey, Clare County Council, Waste Enforcement Team, said: “Boxes, bags or other materials used to carry recyclables should not be disposed of at the bring bank. They should be brought home or to any of Clare County Council’s five Civic Amenity Sites. Bring banks are serviced regularly. However, there is huge demand on sites at this time of year. Where bring banks are full, alternative sites should be used. We thank people for their co-operation.”

Ms Carey added: “While out and about over Christmas enjoying our amazing amenities, we are also urging people to always ‘Leave no Trace’, and when it comes to litter either bin It or bring it home.”

If there is a problem with littering or illegal dumping in your community, our Waste Enforcement Team can be contacted at 1800 606 706 / (065) 6846 331 or via email at enviroff@clarecoco. ie”.

Morgan Lahiffe appointed as Council’s first climate action co-ordinator

BAREFIELD’S Morgan Lahiffe has been appointed as the new climate action co-ordinator within Clare County Council, writes Páraic McMahon

Morgan moves to the role from the post of senior executive officer in the Killaloe Municipal District, prior to this he had been a senior engineer in the West Clare Municipal District serving as one of the key local authority staff involved in the DDF Irish Open’s successful run in Lahinch in 2019. He had been working in Municipal Districts for 14 years.

Addressing a sitting of the Physical Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) of the County Council, Morgan outlined, “human interference and the way we do things across the globe is impacting on the rise of temperature”.

He referred to the regular men-

tioning of “plateau and flattening the curve” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and felt a similar way of thinking was required from the public to get to grips with climate change, “We have to adapt and be more resilient”.

Positions of community climate officer and climate action officer are yet to be advertised within the local authority.

“The climate action team right now is me, I’m the climate action co-ordinator. Climate action is a whole of Clare County Council issue and all directorates have responsibility in realising climate action objectives throughout the organisation,” Lahiffe stated. “It’s important to say, the climate action team isn’t very big but climate action is the responsibility of the whole Council”.

“Climate Action Plans will be de-

voted to urgent solutions to both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and planning for and addressing the inevitable impacts and risks of climate change,” he explained. The plans need to be “ambitious, action based, evidence based, participative and transparent,” Morgan said.

Lahiffe said that it was expected Minister for Climate, Communications and Energy, Eamon Ryan (GP) would “press the button” on the climate action plan in late February. Once this occurs, Clare County Council will have 12 months to formulate their Climate Action Plan which will then have to be adopted by elected members of the Council.

As part of the work, the climate team will have to develop an evidence basis for the county and decarbonisation zone, to find out the entire emissions for the county with

stakeholder engagement at Municipal District anticipated to be a big aspect of the preparation.

Retrofitting of all Council houses to B2 standards in a bid to reduce emissions and similarly with buildings owned by the local authority are expected to be included as objectives of the plan.

“The drafting of the plan will continue over a few months but the bottom line is its going to be a framework of climate actions that we will look to deliver over the following five years,” the climate action co-ordinator commented.

Clare County Council’s transport fleet will also undergo changes.

“There’s no quick wins transportation fleet is a huge one. The change to hydrogen based fuel or HBO fuel we’re not there yet,” Morgan stated.

Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) was adamant Lahiffe had a sizeable amount of work ahead of him, “we all know it is a big task and there’s no point saying anything else”.

Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) was keen that extra members of the team be put in place, “I certainly hope it will be more than a one man team before we know it”.

lNEW ROLE: Morgan Lahiffe

Macalla an Chláir

le MACDARA Ó CONAOLA

An Clár as Gaeilge Teo Togra Páirtnéireachta Forbairt Teanga Pobail do Chontae an Chláir

Suaimhneas na Nollag leat

DIA dhaoibh! Cén chaoi bhfuil sibh?

Bhí an-oíche againn ag an bPreab-Ghaeltacht i dTigh Fawl oíche Dé hAoine seo caite. Go raibh míle maith ag chuile dhuine a tháinig agus ag Eithne Ní Dhonaile agus a cairde faoin gceol spleodrach a chasadh! Beidh neart Preab-Ghaeltachtaí eile ann san athbhliain.

Níl fágtha go dtí Lá Nollag ach deich lá, agus cé gur am aoibhinn agus draíochtúil é, airíonn go leor daoine faoi bhrú an tráth seo den bhliain. Má tharlaíonn sé seo dhaoibhse am ar bith, rud a chabhródh go mór sibh a chuir ar bhur suaimhneas ná suigh síos go compórdach, agus bhur n-anáil

a tharraingt go deas réidh mall isteach tríd bhur bpuincíní, agus ansin séideadh go deas réidh mall amach tríd bhur mbéil. Agus é sin a dhéanamh deich n-uaire agus bhur gcuid súile dúnta agaibh. Déanaigí é sin, agus aireoidh sibh i bhfad níos fearr.

Mura gcuirfidh an sioc sin isteach ar rudaí an iomarca, bígí liom fhéin i Leabharlann De Valera na hInse ag 3.15pm, Dé Máirt seo chugainn an 20ú Nollaig, le haghaidh roinnt scéalaíochta agus cúpla amhrán Nollag do pháistí, SAOR IN AISCE!

Cuirigí scéala chugam ag: lionranahinse@gmail.com má bhíonn nuacht, moltaí, nó ceisteanna ar bith agaibh. Go dtí an tseachtain seo chugainn, tógaigí go réidh é!

The gift of Irish lessons for Nollaig

FUN Irish Lessons for daoine fásta (adults) will resume in the New Year and you can purchase an eight-week course voucher for yourself, or as a bronntanas Nollag (Christmas gift) for a loved one!

Enquiries/Eolas: 065-686 4474 Or email: anclarasgaeilge@gmail. com

And fáilte next Dé Máirt, 20th of

Imeachtaí/Events:

December at 3.15pm, to De Valera Library, Ennis, for some Nollaig storytelling and songs with myself, ‘’I nGAEILGE’’, for na páistí/kids! FREE OF CHARGE.

Follow us on Facebook, Mastodon, Twitter, and Instagram - @ ClárAsGaeilge). Let’s have spraoi le Gaeilge! Until next week, tóg go réidh é agus fainic an sioc!

• Scéalaíocht do pháistí / Story time i nGaeilge le MacDara, Dé Máirt, 20ú Nollaig/December, Leabharlann De Valera, Inis, 15.15 – 15.45, Saor in aisce / Free

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• Scéalta agus Rannta le Chéile, chuile Dé Céadaoin i Leabharlann Shráid na Cathrach ó 10.30 – 11am, Saor in aisce / Free of charge

• Ciorcal Comhrá, chuile Dé Céadaoin & Dé Sathairn i Glór, Inis, 11am-12pm

Thought for the week: Be like Wally Spreading the word of positivity

SCULLY

THIS thought for the week in the lead up to Christmas week is about gaps and divides, about walls and bridges and about the “haves and the have nots.”

THE STORY OF THE INN

There’s a good chance that if you go or did go to mass at Christmas time, some part of you wants to be a part of that journey with Jesus leading us and guiding us. Some part of you wants to be a part of love made real, of God being active in our world, of a world that can change. That can change hate into love, war into peace, injustice into justice, abandoned into acceptance, illness into good health, orphaned into family, homeless into housed and cared for, unforgivable into forgiven. Some part of you wants to be a part of some type of Christmas story.

Maybe not the one that’s written in the Gospels with the shepherds and the manger and the wise men, but a part of the Christmas story, nonetheless. I believe that God is still active in this world, and God is still writing the Christmas story. God is still writing the story of what happened when Christ came into this world as the Prince of Peace, and

what happened next. And you can be a part of that story. The question is, do you want to be the inn that closed its doors? Or do you want to be something else?

I want to be the one who doesn’t close the doors to my heart when God is about to do something new, but the one who hears about it, and comes running. When God works in this world, I want to be a part of that story. I want to be the everyday thing that becomes holy, not because of who I am, but because of who Christ is.

I want to be a part of the story. And so can we all if we just put our faith out there and believe in the goodness of one another and try to treat one another the way you yourself would like to be treated and loved. As usual a story from my Nana Scully’s prayer book might help.

YOU CAN HAVE MY ROOM

“What to do with Wally? Wally was an awkward and shy child who belonged to the church children’s club. It was time to hand out roles for the Christmas play, but what role should the teacher give Wally? She decided on the inn-keeper. It was an important role, but required Wally only to shake his head and say one line “Sorry, we’ve no room.” Wally grinned from ear to ear when he learned of his important role and he couldn’t wait for the big night. It arrived soon enough, and the play

was proceeding according to plan. Mary and Joseph had travelled to Bethlehem and come to the door of the inn. Joseph knocked on the door and it opened to Wally.

“Please sir, do you have a room we could take?” asked Joseph. Wally shook his head and replied. “I’m sorry, we’ve no room”. Now the boy playing Joseph was a particularly confident child, and while the script called for him and Mary to turn away at this point, Joseph decided to exercise some dramatic licence. “But sir” he said to the innkeeper, “My wife is about to have her baby and we need somewhere to stay. Couldn’t you find us a room.” Wally’s face went white – this was not planned for! – and he paused for a moment before repeating his line. “I’m sorry, we’ve no room.” “But sir” replied Joseph, “We’ve travelled such a long way and we’ve nowhere else to go and my wife is very tired. Surely you can find us somewhere.” Wally bowed his head, shook it sadly and said, “I’m sorry, we’ve no room.”

Forlornly Joseph and Mary started walking away. Wally, now fully into his role, felt ashamed and saddened. A tear trickled down his cheek.

Then his voice was heard calling out. “Wait! Please come back. You can have my room.” It may not have been according to script, but at that moment Wally gave perfect expression to the

Christmas story. Is the door of the Inn of your heart open or closed this Christmas?” As Dorothy Day said, “It is no use to say that we are born 2000 or more years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts.”

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

As your thought for the week, always remember it’s sometimes easy to forget that that baby born that first Christmas night grew up to become an adult.

And when he did, and he was asked what God wants us to do with our lives, he answered this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and love your neighbour as yourself.” We need to listen to God in prayer and meditation, who is telling us not to let anyone feel alone or unloved this Christmas or at any time. Each and every one of us needs to let those around us know that we love and care for them. Christmas is a time when it’s particularly important to make people feel included.

Don’t let anyone be on their own this Christmas. In other words, open the door, open your heart, and let the Holy Spirit of Jesus in with all his challenges. Many blessings to everyone in this paper and to you the reader, your loved ones and your family this Christmas and always.

Aromatic seasonal mulled Irish Cider

Step 1 Add your sugar, apple juice, orange rind and juice, and your aromatics to a pot and bring to the boil.

IF LAST week’s recipe was one for the kids, then this week’s recipe is certainly one for the adults. As I write this article, it is freezing cold outside, the fog is so thick that I can’t see past my nose and my kids are convinced we are about to get snow. There is only one thing for this weather, and that’s Mulled Cider!

Mulled cider is made in much the same way as mulled wine, lots of aromatics such as cloves and star anise are simmered slowly in a pot with your booze of choice, in this case we have opted for the good old sparkling wine from Clonmel that is Irish Cider.I will stick a how to video to go with this recipe on my Instagram (@ kearneycooks) at the weekend, but for now, it’s time to get sloshed!

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Step 2

Once your pot of juice has reached boiling point, reduce the heat so the pot is at a low simmer. Now horse in your Cider and Calvados and leave it at a low burn for about 10 minutes. It’s important to keep the heat low as we don’t want to burn off any of the booze.

Step 3 Serve in a glass mug if your fancy, an enamel mug if you’re a hipster or whatever suits you to drink from if you’re not bothered either way.

of charge

‘’Cúl-chaint’’ le Domhnall Ó Loingsigh chuile Dé Sathairn, ag 9am ar Clare FM

Ciorcal Comhrá san XPO, i gCill Iníne Baoith, chuile Dé Céadaoin ag 7.30pm

Club Leabhar as Gaeilge, chuile Déardaoin i Leabharlann De Valera, Inis, 13:30-14:30

Irish/Gaeilge English/Béarla

Gluais/Glossary

RONAN

Heads Up website helping young people access mental health supports

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

A NEW website co-designed by the young people of Clare, has been credited with helping children and parents to access mental health supports in the county. Such has been the success of the Heads Up website, a Ukrainian version is now being developed to help young people who have arrived in Clare after fleeing their war-torn country..

Heads Up Clare (headsupclare.ie) was developed by the Clare branch of CYPSC (Children & Young Persons Services Committee) and was co-designed by Comhairle na nÓg in Clare. Funded by the Healthy Ireland resilience fund, the website is dedicated to signposting young people and parents in Clare to mental health support services in the area.

Sinéad Collopy, the CYPSC coor-

dinator for County Clare, tells The Clare Echo that there is a notable deficit in community based mental health supports in Clare. In neighbouring counties such as Limerick, Galway and Tipperary, a Jigsaw service exists which offers advice and support to young people aged 12–25 years-old.

The CYPSC is an interagency structure which identifies the needs of children and young people across Co Clare. Sinéad, who is employed by TUSLA, explains that community-based youth mental health services are crucial for young people who don’t meet the threshold for HSE support. CYPSC have recently commissioned a report on young people in Clare in accessing mental health services and part of that report will form a business case that will be presented to the Department of Health next year, advocating for a communi-

ty-based youth mental health service for the county.

However, while the organisation recognises this absence in Clare and is making strides to rectify this situation, Sinéad explains that the Heads Up website has been developed in a bid to help guide people in reaching the services that currently are available in Clare to support young people struggling with various mental health issues.

“We wanted to build a website that was very dedicated to County Clare,” says Sinéad. “When we looked at mental health support websites for young people, the national ones give very good tips but the signposting to other services tends to be all national or regional, we wanted a Clare based site that signposted a young person to other supports in their community.

“So, while they may not have a community based mental health services, they may be aware that there’s a family resource centre in their area that is doing youth-based work, there’s a youth service in their area, there’s a club. So that’s what the website is.”

The website also contains an advice section for parents and an animated character which talks visitors through the different sections. “We have an extensive library on the site which goes through different issues like bullying, depression, sexual health and identity, it all impacts on our mental health. It’s a virtual directory but also there’s tips on how to keep yourself healthy and there are tips for parents. Young people have interacted really well with it.”

CYPSC have been contacted by organisations to inform them that young people found their service after visiting the Heads Up Clare website and Sinéad adds, “it’s really important that it’s actually reached the target audience”.

Visitors can filter the website by area, whether you’re a parent or a young person, what age you are, location, and what issue you are looking for information and support on, before the site automatically directs you to a page with the relevant resources in your local community.

“The beauty of Heads Up Clare is that it’s filtered by your age and area so you get the information easier.”

She adds, “We’ve gotten funding this year so we’re going to translate Heads Up Clare into a Ukrainian version. It will be the exact same

site but it will be translated into Ukrainian and the voiceover will be done in Ukrainian because we are very aware of the high number of Ukrainian young people in our county who may be experiencing huge challenges at the moment.”

She notes the impact Covid 19 has had on young with increased levels of isolation and anxiety caused by schools closing during the pandemic. “We know that has had a knock-on effect of what we’re seeing now, that post-Covid anxiety. There will always be a need for a statutory mental health service but we feel a lot of young people can be dealt with in a community service as well. The statutory services are in place for the higher-level need,

what we need to do from a community perspective is early intervention so they won’t need that higher-level service, that’s really where the CYPSC is looking at.”

To visit Heads Up Clare, go to www.headsupclare.ie or for more information on CYPSC, visit https://www.cypsc.ie/.

Meal Planning

ensures healthy meals and snacks are there no matter how busy things get. It can also save time, money and reduce food waste

Visit www.safefood.net for more Healthy Eating tips over the holiday season.

Speaking of the holiday season do check out Clare County Council’s 5 ways to a healthier and greener Christmas and New Year Campaign on their dedicated webpage

https://yoursay.clarecoco.ie/healthy-greener-christmas

New research reveals Munster are most looking

TODAY, Tesco Ireland has published new research examining consumer trends as the busy shopping season ahead of Christmas gets underway. The research* looks at unique shopping habits, Christmas spending projections, and how the nation is feeling towards the festive season this year.

As the Christmas season takes hold, Tesco Ireland is standing up for joy and wants to help customers celebrate

in style, no matter what their budget this year, as it unveils its Christmas campaign for 2022.

Tapping into Christmas Joy

This year, more than ever, people are most excited about being reunited with loved ones and gathering at home this Christmas with almost two thirds (62%) of respondents saying that enjoying a full family reunion and socialising with loved ones (57%) is top of their Christmas list this

year.

Following a tumultuous couple of years that separated families and interrupted various plans, most Munster shoppers are looking forward to celebrating long-held traditions like putting up the Christmas decorations, making the Christmas dinner and wrapping up presents.

Home for Christmas

Almost half of respondents throughout the country (46%) revealed that the last time they and their entire family gathered for Christmas was before 2020, however, almost a quarter of those travelling home for Christmas say they are looking forward to the annual family bickering that so often happens over the Christmas period.

Meaningful Giving

As the busy Christmas shopping season takes hold, it’s no surprise that many

what consumers in forward to this Christmas

shoppers feel the pressure when it comes to choosing the perfect gift. Gift-giving has long been considered a prime way to express love and appreciation, however, Tesco research suggests that gestures don't need to be large or have a hefty price tag to feel meaningful. Over two thirds (40%) of respondents said that thoughtful, yet simple gifts were their favourite type of Christmas gift to receive.

A Resourceful Season

As the rising cost of living continues to impact consumers, 51% of respondents said they have reduced their Christmas budget while almost 3 in 10 (28%) say that they will only buy presents for close family and friends.

It’s Christmas Time

When it comes to recognising that Christmas is finally here, more than a quarter (28%) of recipients admit that they get into the Christmas spirit as soon as Christmas decorations go up with a further 17% saying that tuning in to the Late, Late Toy Show gets them in the Christmas mood.

Keeping to Traditions

Long-held traditions ring true as almost a half of respondents (47%) say that waking up on Christmas morning remains their favourite childhood Christmas memory with a further 1 in 10 of those surveyed saying that reconnecting with family and friends over the festive period makes for a core memory.

A Sustainable Christmas

Despite the rise in online shopping over the previous two years, traditional shopping habits remain with 48% Munster shoppers saying that they will hit the shops to complete their grocery shopping this year, however, and 42% will seek out gifts online. Supporting local is on shoppers minds this year with 52% of respondents opting to buy gifts locally this year.

Cathal Deavy, Customer Director, Tesco Ireland said: “We’re on the countdown to Christmas now, excitement is building, Christmas lights are being turned on and people are beginning to celebrate the joy of Christmas. We’ve been hearing from our customers that they’re excited about the festive season, and this

research confirms that shoppers in Ireland are ready to celebrate Christmas like they used to, with one or two caveats. This is why we’re standing up for joy this Christmas and looking for joy in the simplest of things.

It’s evident, and the research shows, that meaningful and memorable moments are more important as consumers look to recreate the experiences, they missed out on over the previous few years. With consumers looking forward to reconnecting with loved ones and hosting gatherings at home, our team has worked hard to deliver on affordable quality for our customers, not forgetting that home delivery and Click & Collect is there to help give people time back in their day too. We hope everyone enjoys the build-up to the big day this year, however they choose to celebrate.”

39% of people are concerned about getting Christmas dinner right

NEW research from safefood reveals that almost 4 in 10 people are concerned about getting Christmas dinner right this year. The main concern is the cost of the food (52%) while 9% of respondents claimed to be worried about overcooking turkey and 6% are focused on undercooking it and not being sure if it’s safe to eat. Other concerns included getting all of the food to the table hot (9%) and having leftover food that goes to waste (9%).

The research was commissioned by safefood as part of the annual ‘Trust the Meat Thermometer’ campaign. This year, safefood is again supporting home cooks to help them ensure that turkey is neither overcooked and more importantly, not undercooked. Their advice is to use a meat thermometer to ensure that turkey is cooked through to 75 degrees Celsius. safefood also has extra information this year on Christmas dinner leftovers to ensure they’re not going to waste.

Launching the campaign, Dr Linda Gordon, Chief

Specialist in Food Science, safefood said, “This year we know that the focus on cost is a big feature of many people’s Christmas and so getting dinner right is more important than ever. With almost 80% of homes cooking a turkey this year we want to support those home cooks to get it just right. My main recommendation is to use a meat thermometer. They are affordable, easy to use, and add that extra layer of reassurance when making sure that foods like turkey is safely cooked. Whatever cooking method, timings or recipes used; you will know the turkey will be ready to eat when you take it out of the oven and pop the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat between the breast and leg and it reaches 75 degrees Celsius.”

The safefood research also reveals that while 41% plan to cook the same size turkey as last year, 18% will opt for a smaller turkey, and 10% will opt for a turkey crown. This is in a bid to reduce excess leftovers, which is a key concern for 9% of people. “For lots of

helpful tips including food safety advice, a cooking time calculator for your turkey and tasty leftover recipes, visit safefood.net/Christmas. December is the busiest month of the year on our website and last year, we had more than 80,000 people visit our site just between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for practical advice”, added Dr Gordon.

Supporting the campaign, Chef Adrian Martin added, “I’m delighted to support safefood in helping home cooks prepare for Christmas dinner. Research told us that people are worried about managing excess leftovers this Christmas. My advice is to place cooked leftovers in the fridge within two hours of cooking. Once refrigerated, they should be eaten within three days. In advance of food prep, I suggest getting the fridge festive-ready and fresh with a good clean. My next step is to check the cooking calculations and form a plan for your day. Lastly, enjoy the process and a wonderful meal surrounded by family and friends!”.

Christmas Gift Sets

Poko Hydration Duo CBD Skincare Gift Set (€49.95) is the perfect introduction to this amazing new Irish brand which is taking skincare by storm

L'OCCITANE Soft & Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection (€39) is a must-have for the person that loves that extra bit of luxury

LUNA by Lisa Jordan Beauty Closet gift set (€49) is an ideal gift for makeup lovers – I still can’t believe how much there is in it! And not forgetting the men in our lives the Spotlight Oral Care Gift Set for Him (€49.99) will put a smile on his face Christmas morning

Clarins Double Serum 50ml Collection (€96) is bound to impress with a full-size double serum, Lip Comfort Oil Mini and Beauty Flash Balm

Be sure to call in and speak to the friendly staff in Haven Pharmacy Hollys Ennis where you can put together bespoke hampers, to ensure the special person in your life gets exactly what they love.

Rachel Porter @rachels_day_ Style, Beauty and Lifestlye

Nina Khalvashi and Marvna Hrusha, Ukraine enjoying the Westpark Christmas Market ,Shannon recently

Photo by Eamon Ward

Diarmuid Byrnes paid a visit with the Liam McCarthy cup to open the Westpark Christmas Market ,Shannon

Photo by Eamon Ward

Clare companies join Tourism Ireland at Luxury Travel Market in Cannes

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

TWO Clare companies have joined Tourism Ireland in Cannes this week, for the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM).

Dromoland Castle and By Appointment DMC (based in Shannon Airport), attended the invitation-only event for the global luxury travel industry – attracting more than 1,800 influential travel agents and decision-makers who design unique, luxury travel itineraries for their high net-worth international clients, from around 90 different countries.

Luxury travel editors and journal-

ists from international publications were also in attendance.

The four-day event – which took place at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes – involves a programme of bespoke one-to-one appointments and networking sessions and was an excellent opportunity for the tourism businesses from Ireland to meet, and do business with, the influential travel agents and journalists.

Louise Finnegan, Tourism Ireland’s Head of Business Partnership, said: “Our largest-ever participation at this year’s ILTM in Cannes is an excellent opportunity to showcase the superb luxury tourism offering right around Ireland – from our

boutique hotels, castles and luxury resorts, to our rich culture and heritage and not forgetting our worldclass golf and superb culinary scene.

“The format of one-to-one appointments provides an excellent opportunity for our partners from Ireland to network and do business with new and established luxury travel buyers from around the world – ensuring Ireland is ‘top of mind’ for them in 2023 when recommending destinations to their clients.”

l NETWORKING: Cheri Burns, ALTOUR; Marie Chawke, Dromoland Castle; and Orla McElhinney, Tourism Ireland, at ILTM in Cannes

Department concerns on South Clare SDZ yet to be abated

BOTH Clare County Council and the University of Limerick must assure Department officials that the South Clare/UL Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) will not contradict development plans, writes Páraic McMahon

An application was made to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in February of this year to designate lands on the Clare side of the UL campus as an economic SDZ.

Prior to this, both parties prepared an eco-

nomic report with a fifty fifty owned DAC also created.

This report suggested that the site which would become the first ‘university town’ in Europe and could generate a gross added value of €1.795 billion annually to the Irish economy.

The designation of the lands as an Economic SDZ will enable the site to generate upwards of 3,500 jobs with additional employment being generated in the construc-

tion phase and subsequent spin-off developments.

Further information on the SDZ application was requested by the Department in August. Four months on, both the Council and UL are due to submit their response to this. Specific development for the SDZ is among the issues raised by the Department, “they are inferring the land uses proposed for SDZ would not contradict what is proposed elsewhere,” Director of Economic Development with the Council, Liam Conneally stated.

Conneally recalled that in 2018, they along with UL “identified an opportunity to masterplan a significant development site on the

north campus of the existing UL Clare campus for education, enterprise and employment and a world class living environment.

“Since then the two organisations have worked together to apply to Government for the University of Limerick/ South Clare Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) - a fast-track planning designation”.

Policy support for the plans in the current Clare County Development Plan and the Southern Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for further expansion of the University into Co. Clare were acknowledged by Conneally. “This recognition is demonstrated further by the prioritisation of the SDZ objective in the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029”.

He added, “This is a national enabler, it is of national economic importance to the State. The work requested of us is being dealt with”.

Its inclusion in the new County Development Plan was deemed “inappropriate” by the Office of the Planning Regulator.

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

• Climate Action Officer (5 Year Contract)

Completed applications must be emailed to: recruitment@clarecoco.ie not later than 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 17th January, 2023.

• Rural & Community Development Officer Panel

Completed applications must be emailed to: recruitment@clarecoco.ie not later than 4.00 p.m. on Friday 20th January, 2023.

Application forms and further particulars may be obtained by requesting same from the Human Resources Department, Clare County Council at 065-6846439, via e-mail: recruitment@clarecoco.ie or can be downloaded from the following website: www.clarecoco.ie

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

Scriobh chugainn as gaeilge más fearr leat.

The OPR acknowledged the “general ambition” for the project to be developed in the long term but felt it was “premature” to include it in the County Development Plan.

Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) and former councillor, Bill Slattery (FG) during their time on the Southern Regional Assembly made the initial proposal for the project. Cllr McMahon maintained the SDZ was “so important for the future of the Mid-West region, not alone our county”.

McMahon added, “the success of our county is born in innovation” as he listed Ardnacrusha, Moneypoint, Shannon Airport and Dr Brendan O’Regan. “It will have huge economic benefit, I can’t understand our neighbouring counties who can’t see that”.

UL’s Limerick City campus may have had something to do with the doubts from their colleagues across the border, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) believed.

“Opposition has been there that we maybe biasedly might think should not be there. Those who opposed it and were opposing it for reasons which weren’t real that doubt there is sincerity in developing Limerick City campus, I think that has been alleviated to some degree”.

If all concerns are dealt with and an SDZ designation is granted, the next step would be the preparation of a planning scheme.

‘Sky high bills’ for Clare businesses with rates revaluation underway

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SOME Clare businesses face “sky high” bills with work underway on a rates revaluation. New valuations are to be published in October 2023 and come into effective from 2024.

At the beginning of September, the Commissioner of Valuation, with the consent of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien (FF) revoked existing Valuation Orders for the revaluation of commerical and industrial properties in Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, Galway, Kerry and Mayo County Council and Galway City County rating authority areas.

Revaluation 2023 is a national programme aimed at ensuring that the rateable valuation of all commercial and industrial property in Ireland reflects the current business environment. After revaluation there will be a closer relationship between the annual rental values of commercial properties and their commercial rates liability.

Mixed properties of domestic and commercial use will only be assessed on the commercial element of the property. Neither residential property nor agricultural lands are rateable and consequently are not affected by revaluation.

In a proposal before Clare County Council, Cllr Pat Daly (FF), Cllr Pat McMahon (FF), Cllr John Crowe (FG), Cllr Shane Talty (FF) and Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) asked the Govern-

ment “to take steps to ease the burden on rate payers in County Clare arising from the extraordinary high valuation of properties recently introduced by the Valuation Office”.

Business in the county “is very difficult” presently, Cllr Daly acknowledged. Bills have “gone sky high” since the recent revision of rates, the Ennis representative flagged. He outlined that one furniture shop’s rates bill will go from €8,000 to €24,000 while the increase will jump from €16,000 to €19,000 for a doctor’s surgery. “We’re asking Clare County Council to write to the Minister to freeze the revaluation for two years otherwise businesses will go under”.

Nobody in the Council’s management want people to go out of business, Cllr McMahon maintained. “Where jobs could be threatened no one I know wants a situation where a shopkeeper would have to leave staff go because of a huge increase in their rates. We all know the times we’re in and the times threatened for the next year”.

“Businesses have their backs to the wall, it is a very difficult time for trading, we have to secure essential services,” Cllr Crowe added.

There has been “huge unease and concern around” the revaluation process, Cllr Talty stated. “I have a suspicion there will be huge savings to FDI and State companies, their rates will come down and the small savings will be experienced by them but not the small businesses”. The fee for the post office in Ennistymon will go from €800 to €4,000 per annum, he outlined. Talty warned, “the impact

will be seriously damaging to our towns and villages” and it was then pointed out by Cllr Killeen that the shops, pubs and restaurants in these areas were already “under huge pressure”.

For Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), “the challenge is the mixed messaging and the evaluation process people giving forty days notice”. He con-

tinued, “I think the wrong people have been targeted, I think we have been sold a pup by the evaluation office coming to Clare. A lot of small businesses have had large increase”.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) told his colleagues that the Chief Executive of the Council assured him they would be writing to the revaluation officer.

Pictured at Johnson & Johnson, Limerick for the Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D Award presentations to UL students were, Niamh McMahon from Kilfenora and Eva McMahon from Ardnacrusha Photo by Alan Place

Women in STEM2D

Kombucha producers fizzing nicely from Clarecastle botanical brewery

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

CLARECASTLE is the home of kombucha in the West of Ireland, thanks to a couple of entrepreneurs who are brewing the fermented drink from their botanical brewery in the village.

28-year old Ellen Quin and her partner Alex Falco (33) established Hurst Botanicals in March of this year. Just two months later, they were stocked in 150 Aldi stores nationwide in what was a baptism of fire for the young kombucha producers.

Ellen and Alex both have background in

Ellen describes kombucha as an “adult soft drink. It’s like a non-alcoholic beer but light and refreshing. Because of the fermentation they produce antioxidants and probiotics so it’s good for your wellbeing as well.” Such is its popularity, people are beginning to choose it as their drink of choice on a night in the pub. Their first nine months in business has been “a bit of a whirlwind”. Along with launching their online store, Hurst Botanicals were winners of the Grow With Aldi initiative which has since seen them stocked in 150 stores throughout Ireland for a one-off campaign. “It’s been a really busy year for us and we couldn’t have asked for a better start. To be stocked in 150 Aldi stores was incredible, to get our product out there across Ireland. We were staying up ‘til all hours most nights until 2-3am to fill the order.”

Ellen admits it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of her parents, neighbours and the local community. “We had locals coming in helping us moving pallets while they were having a few pints,” she laughs, adding, “It was just something else. I don’t think you’d get it anywhere else in the world, the help we got and we would not have been able to do it just the two of us.”

that sometimes and we have so much fun talking about that. He’s well able to go into the pub now and handle the comments and sly digs he gets and he’s well able to put it back to them!”

Hurst Botanical drinks come in three flavours, (Apple & Elderflower; Plum & Pear; and Wild Berries) are created using raw material sourced through Fair Trade with full traceability, an important ethos

for Ellen and Alex who source most of their tea botanicals from Sri Lanka. “We feel it’s important to pay farmers Fair Trade prices so they can live a better life, that encompasses the people aspect of our sustainability. We are currently working on biodiversity projects locally as well. It’s really close to our hearts and the pillars of our brand.”

the food industry and it was while working for Kerry Group in 2018 that the pair met in County Wicklow. A shared passion for food and nature lit a spark between the pair who quickly became an item. Having left their jobs to go travelling, it was while travelling in Asia – where kombucha was readily available –they would be inspired to later develop their business.

Ellen tells The Clare Echo, “When the pandemic hit, we found ourselves with our tails between our legs. We returned home and ended up living in a barn in a place called Hurstpierpoint in England, that’s where the name Hurst originated from. That’s where I would have started brewing and fermenting the kombucha.”

Ellen’s parents Paddy and Cora are the publicans at Katie O’Reilly’s in Clarecastle, and it is from here where the Hurst Botanicals business was established. From their botanical brewery, the couple ferment tea botanicals to create a light refreshing kombucha drink which is low in calories.

The campaign helped Ellen and Alex promote their business on Ireland AM and Newstalk and Ellen credits Local Enterprise Office, Clare with encouraging Hurst Botanicals to enter the competition. “From the very beginning when we moved home to Clarecastle we started chatting to Clare LEO and they outlined all the grants, aids and programmes that were available to us. For me, it was phenomenal to have such an aid when you are setting up a business. Ever since we made contact, they have been by our side, showing us everything they can help us with,” says Ellen.

Hurst Botanicals are available online and in stores and cafes across Limerick, Dublin and Clare (including Mondo, Sweet n Green, Sourdough Farrell and various shops including Centra). They have ambitious plans to expand their range next year and develop new products while on a personal level, Ellen quips that Alex is quickly getting to grips with life in Clarecastle.

“He’s really embraced it, all the locals know him now especially through the pub and he’s really slotted into Clarecastle life – more than I could have imagined or wished for. It’s a different culture [to England], I think we forget

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Sport

McInerney feeding off Clare fans after decade in jersey

by Eoin Brennan news@clareecho.ie

IT’S EXACTLY a decade on from when David McInerney first embraced a winter programme as part of the Clare senior hurling squad.

However, while his vast bank of experience has been frustratingly offset by injuries in recent years, his boyish eagerness and a determination to build upon a hugely encouraging 2022 season means that the Tulla man is rearing to go once more.

“I’m definitely looking forward to another year. Last year ended poorly for us but overall it was a very enjoyable year. Now, I know we didn’t finish it with any silverware and had a bad performance against Kilkenny but that kind of overshadows what came before it as it was an extremely enjoyable championship to be a part of. And going on that, being back in training now and looking forward to 2023, you can only be optimistic and hopeful for the year ahead."

So what are the major differences from the Davy Mc of 2012 and 2022?

“Well, thinking back to my first off-season when Fitzy called me in, when you’re a young lad like that, you’re just mad for road and you’re not really thinking about anything else because you’re there to impress. Now 10 years later and preparing for my 11th championship, I have to mind myself a little bit more. I definitely can’t be going as hard as I was when I was a 20-year old but I think I nearly appreciate the off-seasons and the championships more as I’m hitting this age.

“When I started off, I was just delighted to be there and happy to be doing whatever but now I’m actually looking forward to the new year even more and the hunger has nearly grown if anything.”

Was that due to have a clean bill of health for Clare last summer?

“I definitely got a great run at it last year and it was very enjoyable as I felt that my body was in good shape. I probably paid more attention to it in that there seems to be a culture in the GAA that you kind of keep going even though you have a

niggle or an injury just so you can play.

“I’ve done it before and definitely did it with the club a little last year but with the inter-county, I just made sure that everything was 100 per cent right and it’s about knowing when to push yourself and when to just step back and admit that something isn’t right.

“I suppose I’m just training smarter now.”

The benefits of a more considered approach was clearly highlighted by McInerney’s superb return to his brilliant best at wing-back as after soaring to an All-Star award in his debut season in 2012, he was also honoured with another All-Star nomination in September.

“It was nice to get it because for me personally, I was very disappointed with the two seasons before that. The first season was the Covid one and while my body was fine and I had no injuries, I just never got going at any stage and I missed the fans and the support and I didn’t hurl well and we were

eventually beaten by Waterford below in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

“The following year, the fans were allowed back alright but my body just broke down. We had been training individually with Covid at the start of 2021 and when we were allowed to train together again, two or three sessions into it my body just broke down and I just couldn’t get back into the team really for the rest of the year and I was never comfortable either.

“So from a personal point of view, it was just lovely last year as I think I played every single second of championship hurling which was obviously my aim at the start of the year. And for the team to go so well too was even sweeter so hopefully this year we can have much more of the same and even go another step if we’re able to.”

His recognition of the supporters’ loyalty over the years is something that clearly strikes a chord with the Tulla talisman as during the conversation, he consistently references the appreciation of the Banner’s

support both off the field in terms of Club Clare as well as the physical backing from the stands.

“I think that round-robin format in Munster is just incredible. Playing home and away fixtures is brilliant for the GAA as bringing teams to Ennis is something we love because we find the support amazing when we play there. I’ve even talked to lads from other counties who say how much of an atmosphere there is in Cusack Park and then going to the likes of Thurles and beating Tipperary there as we did last year, those days are also very special.

“When Covid was around and there were no fans, by God it made you appreciate how important they are as the championship games felt like challenge matches at times because you could hear everyone in the stands and hear every ball being struck.

“Contrast that with the likes of the Munster Final last year against Limerick in Thurles which was just incredibly special and both sets of fans definitely added to that.

“I think if that was a Munster Final during Covid times, the game itself would never have reached the intensity levels that it did so it just goes to show how influential the supporters can be in creating a huge buzz as the players themselves react to those roars from the stand.

“The fans have been brilliant too in helping fund the county teams at all ages through Club Clare’s initiatives and in particular the membership offering so it’s up to us to give them something to cheer about on the field.

“For 2023, I think we have two home fixtures with Cork and Tipp coming to Ennis this summer and then have Limerick and Waterford away so getting fans down to Walsh Park and the Gaelic Grounds will be very important for us because players definitely, definitely need the back up of their support.

“We get that unbelievably in Ennis and we’ve been told that numerous times so hopefully we can give our fans a good bit more to shout about next year and get off to a good start in Munster.”

Club Clare membership for 2023 can now be obtained for yourself or as a Christmas present for others at www.clubclare.com

Concern at underage disciplinary issues

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

A RISING number of disciplinary cases within the underage hurling ranks of Clare is causing concern.

Secretary of Coiste na nÓg Iomáint, Pat Gavin in his report to County Convention detailed, “the number of disciplinary cases we had during the year disappointed me greatly. Clubs, I believe can play a big part in helping this situation improve.

“Also, we are seeing the odd sideline issue arise in our games, this just has to be stamped out. The rules are too lenient, there is no protection for our referees and until there is a zero tolerance approach this will keep happening”.

Gavin who is himself is a referee acknowledged that the games could not take place without the input and dedication of referees.

“I appeal to everyone at all levels to show the utmost re-

spect to our referees. We deeply appreciate and thank every referee who gave freely of their time so that all our games were played.

"I again appeal to clubs to get behind the current recruitment drive organised by the senior board to increase the pool of referees. If the current programme of games is to continue, then clubs have to play their part and put people forward to take up the whistle and become a referee”.

l FAN FAVOURITE: David with Clare fanatic John Joe Costello (Photo by Chris Copley); and (main) signing a hurley for young Euan McInerney in 2019

Cusack Park naming rights on the table

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

NAMING rights for Cusack Park, the development of the Cloister Car Park and securing sponsors for club championships have been pinpointed as targeted sources of revenue for Clare GAA.

Addressing her first County Convention since becoming Clare GAA Head of Operations in October, Deirdre Murphy detailed that the capacity to generate recurring revenue must be increased.

She stated, “It has been well documented in recent weeks the amounts currently being spent by County Boards particularly in relation to senior intercounty teams. Neighbouring counties with similar challenges to Clare regarding population and location have demonstrated that competing at the top level requires a level of expenditure that is well above what is the norm in Clare. It is incumbent on us to ensure that our teams and mentors want for nothing in terms of their ability to prepare in a high-performance environment equivalent to our rivals.”

Sponsorship of club championships, naming rights for Cusack Park and the development of the Cloister Car Park as a revenue stream “are all items that we will seek to address in 2023,” the Clooney woman stated. Sponsorship revenue was labelled “a vital component in meeting our commitments on an annual basis” and she praised the financial support and interest in gaelic games shown by Pat O’Donnell and his family.

A "critical role" in providing financial support to county teams exists thanks to Club Clare and the Clare Football Supporters Club, she said. “It is abundantly clear that counties tasting All-Ireland success on a regular basis owe much of their success to the excellence of their supporters’ clubs. What this will look like into the future is something that will take some working out”. Clare GAA’s Strategic Plan calls for a unified body and this re-

mains “the medium-term goal,” Murphy confirmed.

Establishing processes for the day-today running of Clare GAA has been the initial focus for the former Clare camogie captain since taking on the role. This has included scheduling gym and pitch training slots for teams in both codes from U17 to senior, ascertaining parameters on logistics, catering, equipment, kit vans and their contents. Budgets for county teams have been drafted for next year along with internal processes for processing and approval of payments.

Existing grass management practices, maintenance contracts, available equipment, workforce plus current issues in this sector have been examined. Negotiations on the contract for official gear and leisurewear suppliers have been finalised.

Expenditure on pitch and facilities maintenance “has been kept artificially low due to the herculean efforts of individuals such as Michael Maher and Mick Dunne. However, the volume of work and level of coordination involved is unsustainable and the appointment of a fulltime facilities manager is an immediate priority in early 2023. Additionally there is a requirement to purchase new machinery and repair or trade other items that are vital to the upkeep of our grounds”.

Short-term projects for Clare GAA are estimated to cost €3m and include the development of an all-weather pitch in Caherlohan, remediation of pitches, enlarging the gym and revamping facilities in Clareabbey “from both a playing and administrative/working perspective environment perspective.”

Keating reviews GAA year

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

CHAIRMAN of Clare GAA, Kieran Keating has hit out at the “very flawed process” that resulted in suspensions for two of the county’s senior hurlers this year while the need to provide facilities of a comparable standard to other counties was also stressed.

Proposed one match bans were issued for Peter Duggan and Rory Hayes following this year’s Munster SHC final by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC). The duo along with Galway’s Cianan Fahy were later cleared on a technicality flagged by Galway GAA which was that the meeting which proposed the suspensions was held online which does not constitute a meeting of the CCCC.

Delivering his address at County Convention, Keating recalled that the disappointment of the extra time Munster Final defeat “coupled with two

of our players being threatened with suspensions in a very flawed process based on video review meant that we seemed to have a collective flatness in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford”.

The return of “full-house attendances” was welcomed in a memorable provincial campaign which ended in a “thrilling final” that saw a winner decided after extra time.

Keating also praised Clare’s senior footballers and manager Colm Collins for retaining Division Two status and an All-Ireland quarter-final appearance.

He noted that the provision of a fully floodlit all-weather full-sized pitch in Caherlohan has to be a near-term priority, adding that the success of the ‘Win a House in Lahinch’ fundraiser, has “provided us with a war-chest to begin properly planning for these capital investments.” Full story on www. clareecho.ie.

'Attitude to refs must improve'

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

PUBLIC attitude towards referees’ decisions needs to change, says the county’s referee administrator.

Former inter-county referee, Seanie McMahon was elected referee administrator in March of this year and in his first address to County Convention outlined that his main priorities were focused on refereeing standards, improved facilities for referees, umpires and linesmen at all clubs and trying “to alter the public reactions and attitudes to referees’ decisions, it needs to change and be balanced”.

Introduction of a mentoring scheme by McMahon for existing referees saw over 80 percent of referees in the county mentored.

“This will be expanded in 2023, hopefully for new referees from February onwards. This scheme is a pilot scheme which hopefully will be taken on at a provincial level and national level, nice for Clare to be innovators”.

With the club season drawing to a close, the Newmarket-on-Fergus man said referee recruitment “is top of my agenda”.

Regional meetings have been held at four venues

in Clare to try recruit new candidates for the referee’s foundation course with invites issued to representatives from all clubs.

He said that Clare GAA with the help of Munster GAA will in January be running the new foundation course module which has been drafted by Croke Park. McMahon told delegates interested candidates were more than welcome to get involved as he encouraged all clubs to forward prospective officials.

Over 2,000 fixtures were fulfilled by referees in Clare this year including 520 in Bord na nÓg Peil, 587 in Bord na nÓg Iomáint, 385 in adult football, 460 in adult hurling plus ties for development squads, post primary and Cumann na mBunscoil.

Input of umpires, linesmen and fourth officials was acknowledged by the two-time Clare SHC winner. “These people are the unsung heroes, their dedication and commitment on a weekly basis has to be admired, not to mention the time spent away from their families, wifes, partners and children. I personally would like to thank these people for their understanding and patience”.

Clare PRO can't access Facebook

CLARE GAA’S public relations officer does not have access to accounts perpetrating to be the ‘official’ pages of the Association on Instagram and Facebook.

Lissycasey’s Anne Hayes completed her first term as PRO of Clare GAA and outlined at County Convention that she does not have access to its social media channels.

John O’Sullivan of Ruan is the IT officer for Clare GAA, operating the official website and Twitter page but access to Facebook and Instagram has not been extended to the PRO, she lamented.

“We would have liked to be in control of Clare GAA Instagram and the numerous Clare GAA Facebook pages however we are unable to get access or to find out who is involved in these,” Hayes stated.

A Facebook page ‘GAA Clare’ had been created by her predecessor Michael O’Connor who is now Vice Chairman and this account continues to be updated.

In her report to Convention, Anne who was elected in April, said a PR committee was formed in May and comprised of herself, O’Sullivan, Sean O’Halloran, Michael O’Regan, Flann O’Reilly, Sean Chambers and Seamus O’Reilly.

From the period of July 23 to October 31, 25,000 programmes were produced bringing in €42,750 in sales.

Club secretaries and PROs were thanked by Hayes for their assistance in sending on information for programmes with the committee responsible for proof reading, the “professionalism” of the staff at Realprint were also acknowledged. “Clubs should realise that programmes are a matter of record and therefore should ensure that team lineouts should be provided correctly”.

l CLARE ECHO PARK?: The naming rights for Cusack Park has been pinpointed as a potential source of income for Clare GAA Photo by Gerard O'Neill

l LEFT HER MARK: Kieran Keating

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Jones & Reddan elected golf captains Shannon

U21 hurling goes ahead as football pushed back

by Seamus Hayes sports reporter

DAVID JONES and Debbie Reddan have taken on the respective captain roles in Shannon Golf Club with Niamh O’Regan elected captain of Woodstock ladies golf club.

WOODSTOCK GOLF CLUB:

The annual general meeting of Woodstock ladies golf club was held on Sunday when Niamh O’Regan was elected as captain for 2023 with Eilis Neville as the vice captain.

Others elected were Kathleen McEnery (secretary), Eilis Neville (treasurer), Marianne McGough (handicap secretary), Anne Marie Russell (competitions secretary), Mary McNamara (Ex-officio) with the committee comprising Patricia Leyden, Patsy Nugent and Aine Burke.

Chaye Kelly was confirmed as winner of the golfer of the year while Niamh O’Regan was the masters winner, a competition sponsored by the late Jack Heaslip.

The October League, sponsored by Marianne McGough was a 14 hole stableford competition with the three best cards to count. The winner was Imelda Duffy with 88 points from Mary Morgan with 86. Imelda Duffy also won the Sheelagh Garvey trophy with 40 points from Marianne McGough with 39, Chaye Kelly with 35 and Mary McNamara with 32.

SHANNON GOLF CLUB:

The annual general meetings of the men’s and ladies sections of Shannon Golf Club were held last week when both groups reviewed a successful season. Debbie Reddan is the new ladies captain with Suzanne McMahon as vice captain

with Connie Corry the ex officio officer.

The 2023 men’s captain is David Jones with Kevin Stanford as vice captain while the ex officio position is filled by Derek Sweeney.

Both committees are now finalising plans for the 2023 season. Because of the current difficult weather conditions the annual general meeting of the joint club was deferred from this week to Tuesday next, December 20 at 8pm in the clubhouse.

EAST CLARE GOLF CLUB:

Last week’s senior men’s outing at East Clare was won by Nick Ryan, Michael Moloney, John Farrell and Danny Minogue from Willie Roche, Brian Corry, Michael Heffernan and Ted Harrington. In third place were Seamus Mason, Ger O'Brien, Gordon Jones and John Nihill.

GORT GOLF CLUB:

The severe frost of the past week resulted in the closure of golf clubs across the county and the cancellation of many Christmas competitions.

Before the severe frost hit, Gort held their men’s Christmas hampers competition. The category 1 winner of the 18 hole singles stableford competition was Niall O’Shaughnessy (10) with 41 points. Category 2 was won by John Commins (15) with 44 points, Coley Smyth (21) won category 3 with 49 points and John Daly (24) won category 4 with 41 points.

The ladies Christmas surprise 13 hole stableford competition was won by Hannah McInerney (7) with 28 points from Anne Connolly (22) with 26 points with Siobhan Forde (12) in third spot with 25 points followed by Margaret Whelan (30) with a similar score.

U21A hurling semi-finals are provisionally fixed to take place this coming Sunday while the semi-finals in the U21A football championship have been delayed by a week.

At a meeting of the CCCC on Monday, officers referred to weather forecasts which anticipate a change in the weather by the weekend as they expressed hopes games would go ahead.

Frosted pitches, fog and road safety were among the reasons which caused the games to be postponed over the weekend.

Semi-finals in the U21A hurling championship are now down for decision on Sunday at 1pm, Scariff/ Ogonnelloe face off with Clarecastle in Tulla while Tubber hosts the meeting of Corofin/Ruan and Inagh/Kilnamona.

Agreement has been reached by both Kilmaley and Broadford to play the U21B hurling final this Saturday. A time of 1:30pm has been confirmed and the tie will take place in Clarecastle.

The Clare Echo understands that the University of Limerick will be available as a back-up pitch. Originally intended to take place on Tuesday of this week, the U21A football semi-finals have been pushed back by seven days. Venues remain the same for the penultimate clashes with reigning champions Cill Cúil Gaels

squaring off with Corofin in Gurteen while St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield face off with Ennistymon in Cooraclare. 7:30pm is the start time for the semi-finals.

By Sunday evening, the finalists in the U21B football championship should be known. Banner and Kilmurry Ibrickane go toe to toe in Pairc Finne, Corofin while Cooraclare hosts the meeting of neighbours Lissycasey at Clondegad, these semi-finals throw-in at 1pm.

An appeal by Corofin/ Ruan over the granting of a result to Scariff/Ogonnelloe in their U21C2 hurling quarter-final was successful. Their initial appeal was rejected by Clare GAA but they took the matter to the Munster Council who referred the matter to the Clare Hearings Committee who decided to reinstate the North Clare amalgamation to the competition.

It will add to a spicy

meeting between the sides on Saturday in Dr Stuart Park, Ogonnelloe at 1:30pm with the winner advancing to the semi-finals versus Sixmilebridge. The other semi-final will take place this weekend with Inagh/Kilnamona and St Joseph’s Doora/ Barefield in action from 1:30pm in Ballyea.

Action will be on Sunday for the U21C1 hurling semi-finals. O’Callaghans Mills and Cratloe meet in Meelick while Whitegate and Parteen/Meelick play in Broadford, the throw-in time is 1:30pm.

Plans to have all finals finished before Christmas met a major stumbling block with the cancellation of games last weekend. No provisional date has been set for the U21A football final. Provisionally, the U21A hurling final will be played on December 23 with the U21B football and U21C1 hurling

finals taking place on December 22.

paraic@clareecho.ie

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

Paddy Donnellan bursts past Andrew Conheady

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

U21B HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP

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l IN ACTION: Mark Rodgers will line out for Scariff-Ogonnelloe

Photo by Ruth Griffin

CSSL finances back on solid footing

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

OUTGOING treasurer of the CSSL, Cathal Jones has been praised for putting the league’s finances back on a solid footing.

For the first time since October 2018, the Clare Schoolboys/Schoolgirls Soccer League (CSSL) recorded a surplus in their finances.

Question marks have surrounded the accounts of the CSSL in recent campaigns with doctored accounts presented to delegates in 2019 while the 2020 AGM had to be abandoned when matters became heated whilst discussing the finances.

Accounts for 2022 showed a surplus of €9,125, the healthiest position since 2018 when a surplus of €16,188 was in the bank. Recent years have seen deficits of €5,019 (2019), €20,567 (2020) and €2,025 (2021).

An income of €89,268 was recorded in 2022, double the €40,916 of the previous year,

this was coincided with the resumption of all underage programmes, a near doubling of gate receipts and registration fees plus the addition of fundraising and sponsorship.

Registration fees was the biggest source of revenue at €45,593 followed by underage programmes (€27,393), gate receipts (€9,510), fundraising/sponsorship (€4,155) and grants received (€1,000).

Expenses almost doubled rising from €42,941 last year to the 2022 figure of €80,503. No transport costs were incurred last year while this year they amounted to €13,950. While the underage programme costs were a source of revenue, they also came at a cost of €16,537, almost quadrupling. Gear and kit costs were reduced, at a fee of €8,022 with other outlays including insurance (€7,395), medals/trophies (€5,582), tournament fees & SFAI registration (€5,480), rent of pitches (€4,950), referee costs (€4,542) and printing (€4,152). Less money was spent on accounting, gear and referees this season.

Pouring through the figures, outgoing treasurer Jones acknowledged registration fees “went up significantly” with the rate going up by fifty percent, having been halved

in 2020. “There are more kids coming up from U8, U9 and U10. I think those numbers, the amount of kids in teams coming through are only going to grow, my advice from

committee perspective is we won’t need to see any more increases, we’ll be funded well by the numbers coming through. We have the numbers coming up, registration

is good, there was no fines last year everybody was either very good or we were lenient. The only way in changing behaviour is by fines, the frustration of the life of a registrar, the bulk of those fines aren’t from behavioural issues, some of it are for late registrations,” he stated.

No grants from the FAI were received by the CSSL this year but Burren Utd did receive financial funds for their “great work with the Ukrainians”.

Elected Treasurer in June 2021, Cathal told the CSSL’s AGM he was not going to remain on. “It is not a tremendously difficult job but it is a time consuming job, the clubs have been great to be me”.

Next year’s accounts are likely to show an ETP grant worth €6,000, Cathal flagged with a COVID support grant also on the way. He also spoke of the importance of having a consistency in the costs associated with all county teams.

McNamara joins Nugent at Galway United

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

BAREFIELD’S Maurice Nugent is returning to Eamonn Deacy Park.

Nugent rejoins Galway Utd after close to a year with English side Uxbridge F.C, who play their football in the Isthmanian League South-Central Division. Maurice left the Tribesmen when he moved to London in January of this year for work but always indicated that he would keep the door open on a return to the League of Ireland.

His return ahead of the 2023 season will be warmly welcomed by fans who will recall that Maurice made 86 appearances for the club in four seasons, his debut coming in the EA Sports Cup Quarter-Final against Sligo Rovers, winning 3-2 on penalties after 120 minutes.

Now twenty four, the centre back was highly regarded by former manager Alan Murphy who had him as vice captain. He played a key role in the spine of defence during his last season with Galway as they broke a club record for the longest amount of time without conceding a goal, setting the new club-record at 516 minutes.

Promotion to the Premier Division has already been earmarked as the top priority for the Barefield native. “The big thing I miss is playing games in front of the fans at Eamonn Deacy Park, in my last season we were getting great crowds towards the end of the year, and it looks like they’ve stayed coming back which is a great sign. I’m really looking forward to playing in front of them all again.”

“Promotion is the goal, there’s a big group of players there who have been there for the last two years, they know exactly what it takes. You can’t have any complacency, you need to churn out results week after week. Hopefully we can get to work early and produce good results next year,” the qualified engineer added.

With international experience for the Irish U19 and Irish Universities side, Nugent who joined Mervue Utd when he was sixteen will be a big addition to John Caulfield’s squad.

His return to Galway Utd follows the signing of Newmarket-on-Fergus' Callum McNamara from

Treaty Utd on a five-year deal.

McNamara makes the move from Treaty Utd to Galway Utd in what will be a full-time role for the twenty one year old.

It brings an end to his two year stint with the Limerick club where he developed into a fan favourite, making fifty six appearances and scoring once for Tommy Barrett’s side, of these appearances twenty two were in his debut season in the League of Ireland.

Last season, Callum continued to be a central player for Treaty Utd, a run which included making the FAI Cup semi-final where they lost to eventual winners Derry City. He missed out on just two league games for Treaty as he took up a more defensive role.

On his move to Eamonn Deacy Park, Callum said, “I’m delighted to be here. I’ve played against Galway United a few times in the last couple of years and I understand how big of a club it is. The full-time aspect was a big draw for me, I think it’s a great opportunity for me to improve and help get the club promoted."

Talks are said to be ongoing regarding Munllagh's Caoilfhionn O'Dea's future with the club.

l PRAISED: Outgoing Treasurer Cathal Jones

Photo by Natasha Barton

l CLARE CONTINGENT: (above) Callum McNamara of Newmarket-onFergus has signed with Galway United, where he will line out with Barefield's Maurice Nugent (above left)

Photo by Marc O Grill

Europe bronze for Ennis' Dean Casey

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

ENNIS’ DEAN CASEY has won a bronze medal at the European Cross Country Championships with Mark Hanrahan also part of the U20 team that won the overall silver medal.

Ireland have claimed a record medals haul of five at the European Cross Country Championships held at La Mandria Park in Italy.

Dean Casey of Ennis Track took the bronze medal in the U20 race with Nick Griggs pipped to gold by Great Britain’s Will Barnicoat.

Both Dean and Nick were part of the U20 Irish team that won the overall silver medal to add to the celebrations. They were joined by Mark Hanrahan also of Ennis Track, Jonas Stafford, Callum Morgan and Sean McGinley.

Hanrahan finished 53rd in the field of 100. He and Dean are both trained by Pat Hogan.

Casey who finished thirteenth in the Championships last year was quick to reference his hard work in 2022 paying dividends.

“It was absolutely great to see that Nick did come second, I was able to see throughout the whole race fighting for the number one spot and only getting pipped before the line you couldn’t have asked much more from him. For me, it’s unreal, I came thirteenth last year when I knew I wasn’t the best so coming third shows how much training I’ve done and all that”.

Elsewhere, the Irish Women’s team won bronze, the Irish men finished eighth and the Irish men’s U23 team also won bronze.

He added, “I didn’t expect to come third, it’s such a stacked field, for the whole race I was sitting around fifth or sixth, I worked my way through and was trying to get to the leading pack and picking people off when they were coming back to me”.

“For the race I just wanted to go as hard as I could from the start, get a good position and grind the whole way to the finish line to try help the team get gold or silver”..

Matchbook Irish St Leger Final rescheduled

by MICHAEL MAHER

THE EXECUTIVE of RCÉ/GRI met early on Monday to discuss the rescheduling of the Matchbook Irish St. Leger 2022 Final at Limerick which was postponed on Saturday night due to freezing temperatures.

The decision has now been made to host the final on this Sunday (December 18) with first race at 6.30pm. The full race card has been carried forward from last Saturday. Racing from Limerick on Monday night last provided success for two Clare winners, Syds Star landed an A4 graded contest for the C-Star Syndicate from Ennis, a son of Droopys Sydney and Annual Review he recorded a first career victory in 29.44

Portdrine Magic owned by Cratloe’s Liam Carroll displayed great early pace to land the spoils in 29.38 for an A3 contest, it was the second career success for this son of Clonbrien Hero and Clona Lass.

A nice crowd congregated to view the 12 races on offer on Thursday night last, the first race of the evening went to Mary Crotty from O’Briensbridge with Inislsoky Jasper, in 29.70. Snuggie Rosie owned by Newmarket on Fergus’s Breda Casey justified favouritism with a decent 29.06 run and Rockalong Sierra brought the honours to Tulla for Donnacha McNamara with a 29.18 victory in an A3 graded contest.

Due to the high demand for Christmas parties, there was racing in Galway on Thursday night last. In the first race of the evening a novice 525, Glynnscross Liz ran a blinder for Kilmihil’s Tom Keane to get her career off to winning ways in 29.42, she is a homebred daughter of Droopys Sydney and Glynnscross Styler.

Tubber native Gerry O’Donoghue, the butcher from Gort had On the Radio in fine fettle who landed the spoils in 29.48, a son of candlelight king and pinnacle blue, this was his first career win.

Aulton Lucy claimed the honours in the finale of the evening for Pat Hogan from Ballyalla with her 29.39 effort, a first career win for this daughter of Pat C Sabbath and Portumna West.

Friday night’s Galway card was curtailed to just seven races as a starting trap mal-

function caused the second of four scheduled heats of the Pau McKenna Memorial A3 575 yards generously sponsored by Vincent McKenna to voiced and forcing the remaining heats to be run this coming week. The card also featured the Semi Finals of the WGOBA A4 Christmas Croker 525 with a pair of A2 graded contests the twin features class wise.

Greyhound Racing Ireland have announced a number of prizemoney incentives for events across the 2023 Calendar.

2023 RACING BONUS INCENTIVES

Sprint Triple Crown Supersprint at Curraheen Park

Islandbridge Sprint at Shelbourne Park Treaty Cup at Limerick Stadium

€15,000 bonus if greyhound wins all 3 events; €5,000 bonus if greyhound places 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all 3 events

Bitch Bonus

Munster Oaks, Kilcohan Park Galway Oaks, Galway Stadium

€10,000 Bonus if bitch wins both events.

Shelbourne Park Oaks Bonus

Puppy Oaks (April), Shelbourne Park

Sporting Press Irish Oaks, Shelbourne €10,000 bonus for any bitch Puppy who wins Puppy Oaks and then finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the Irish Oaks Final

Unraced Puppy Bonus

Champion Unraced, Kilkenny Produce Stakes, Clonmel

€10,000 Bonus if greyhound wins both 525 Greyhound Bonus Select Stakes, Kilcohan Park Irish Laurels, Curraheen Park €10,000 for any greyhound who wins both events

Puppy Bonus

IGOBF National Puppy, Shelbourne Park 2024 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial, Limerick €20,000 for any greyhound who wins both events

Triple Crown Bonus

Easter Cup, Shelbourne Park

Champion Stakes, Shelbourne Park Irish Greyhound Derby, Shelbourne €50,000 for any greyhound who wins all 3 events

Stayers Bonus Deadly Kennels Open 750, Curraheen Park Corn Cuchulainn, Shelbourne Park €10,000 for any greyhound who wins both Bonus will be split 40% Owner / 40% Trainer / 20% Breeder

PLANNING

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL SKEHANAGH, CLARECASTLE, CO. CLARE.

Take notice that Michael Keating Dip. Arch. (phone 085-8421780), on behalf of Anne Moloney, intend to apply to Clare County Council for retention permission to retain a separate garage to the side of the existing dwelling house at Skehanagh, Clarecastle, Co. Clare.

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

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL, ATLANTIC VIEW, GRATTAN STREET, KILKEE, CO. CLARE

Take notice that Niave McCourt & Patrick McKnight are applying for planning permission to renovate and refurbish an existing building to incorporate a ground floor apartment and a first floor apartment, for material

change of use of a section of the ground floor to incorporate a restaurant on the ground floor, 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.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL, DOONOGAN, MULLAGH, CO CLARE

Take notice that Noreen O Gorman intends to apply for permission to build a new dwelling house, garage, install a wastewater treatment system & all other site and ancillary works at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed

fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL, KILCONNELL, LISCANNOR CO. CLARE

Take notice that Bebhinn Glesson intends to apply for (i) Retention Permission for demolition of shed and the construction of new shed as built, (ii) permission to complete works to shed and all ancillary site works for use as a home office. Protected Structure RPS No. 619 applies.

This 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 FURROOR, KILMALEY, ENNIS, CO. CLARE FURTHER INFORMATION/ REVISED PLANS Planning Ref: P22/14

Development Description: The construction of a new dwelling house and garage complete with an access road, sewage treatment system and ancillary works Location: Furroor, Kilmaley, Ennis, Co. Clare. Take notice that Garry O’Sullivan has lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P22/14.

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

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYNAGRANAGH CRUSHEEN CO. CLARE Take Notice that We Enda

& Katie O’ Brien intend to apply to Clare County Council For Permission for the Construction of a Dwellinghouse, Garage, Bored Well, Entrance and access road & Proprietary Waste Treatment Plant including all ancillary site works at 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 of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co.Clare during it’s 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 BALLYKILDEA, KILLALOE, CO CLARE I, Moira Walsh, am applying to the above authority for retention permission for the following development on property at Ballykildea, Killaloe, Co Clare: Retention Permission for as-constructed detached stable building, new agricultural entrance and agricultural roadway, sand ring together with all associated incidental and

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 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.

CALLINAN, JOSEPH

25th Anniversary

Treasured memories of a loving husband and Father Joe (Joseph), 3 Gallows Hill, Ennis and Ruan who died on 22nd December 1997.

In our hearts you will always stay, loved and missed every day your loving wife Pauline, sons Fergus, Damien, Rory, daughters Aisling and Susie and extended family.

Anniversary mass on Thursday 22nd of December at 7:30 pm at Ennis Cathedral.

TYRES

3 Day Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Never Known to Fail) Oh, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven. Blessed Mother of the Son of God; Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me you are my Mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (Say 3 times).

Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands. (Say 3 times)

Amen.

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

Thank you.

-AM

A Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Our Lady of Mount Carmel

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

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

O, show me herein you are my Mother, O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times)

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

The Clare Echo Quiz

Spot the Difference

. boots of player different coulour . logo on hat missing . Number 1 on jersey missing . Flag different colour

answers . Line on sock missing of player 8 . Crest missing on sleeve of number 8 . Part of shorts different colour (left)

World Junior Boxing Champion Cliona Darcy alongside her friends Elisha Quin, Rachel Linnane and Niamh Walsh

Photo by Natasha Barton

HOW TO PLAY

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