The Clare Echo 16/12/21 by The Clare Echo

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Shannon Gardaí REACHING FOR THE STARS bring Christmas cheer to elderly PÁRAIC McMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

N A DISPLAY of Christmas cheer, gardaí in Shannon have teamed up with local businesses to bring festive gifts to senior and vulnerable citizens in Cratloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Shannon and Sixmilebridge. Shannon gardaí will be bringing hot meals, a mince pie and a Christmas hamper of essential foods and goodies to show their thanks and appreciation to 159 elderly and

vulnerable people living in the area. Included in the hamper is a Christmas card from Junior and Senior infants pupils from schools within the locality. Ordinarily, a Christmas event is held by Shannon Garda Station, this initiative has been organised as an alternative to reach out to persons that may be in need of support. “Because they can’t come to us, we’re going to them,” explained Inspector Paul Slattery.

FULL STORY pg 22

l Ethan Coughlan in Munster dressing room seven years ago with his heroes Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray. On Sunday the Ennis RFC product lined out beside them in the Champions Cup along with his two underage clubmates, Conor Moloney and Tony Butler

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THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

INSPIRING YOUNGSTERS HONOURED

2-21

GREENER CLARE

COLUMNISTS

GIFT GUIDE

30-35

RECRUITMENT

36-39

CLICK FOR CLARE

40-41

SPORT

46-50

36C Abbey Street, Ennis, County Clare Telephone: 065 671 9021

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

SALES

HEROES: (L-R) Megan White (Direct Provision Centre – King Thomond Hotel, Lisdoonvarna) representing Yaqoob Shinawari, Superintendent John Galvin, Mary Considine, CEO Shannon Group, Superintendent John Ryan, Caithlin Grifﬁn, Méabh O’ Grady, Elise Casey and Robbie Crowe Photo by Arthur Ellis

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

SOME of the county’s most inspirational youngsters were honoured at the sixth annual Clare Garda Youth Awards, writes Stuart Holly. Carron’s Caithlin Griffin (17) and Afghanistan native Yaqoob

Shinawari (17) who now lives in Lisdoonvarna both scooped individual awards. Robbie Crowe (19) from Lahinch claimed the special achievement award while the group winners were the Clare Youth

Service Shannon Leadership Programme led by Elise Casey (17) from Shannon and Newmarket-on-Fergus’ Méabh O’ Grady (16). Organised by the Clare Garda Division district and

sponsored by Shannon Group, the awards seek to identify inspirational young leaders in recognition of their voluntary community work and personal achievements. All winners are aged between 14 and 19 years.

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Family ‘relieved’ to escape head on crash unscathed LUCKY: Michael, James, Dan and Joe Garrihy pictured on Sunday after St Breckans claimed the U21B title

RELIEF has been expressed by a Lisdoonvarna family that managed to walk away unscathed from a head-on collision on Sunday, writes Páraic McMahon. On Sunday morning, two cars collided on the road coming out of Miltown Malbay to Lahinch, a number of miles passed Rineen with an oil spillage causing the vehicles to lose control. Subsequent to this, a safety alert was issued by Clare County Council advising motorists of the spillage. The accident was described by Mayor of Clare, Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) as “a head-on collision”.

Members of the Garrihy family were travelling to Dr Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown Malbay as part of the St Breckans contingent partaking in the U21B football final with county councillor Joe (FG) accompanied by his sons, Micheal, Dan and James in one of the cars. Dan lined out for St Breckans at corner back and collected his first U21 championship medal in an eventful day for the Lisdoonvarna family. Speaking on Monday, Cllr Garrihy reflected, “when you walk away from an accident you realise how lucky you are”.

He paid tribute to the emergency services, fire units from Ennistymon fire station, Clare County Council’s Municipal District staff and passers by who assisted them in the moments following the crash. Their valuable input had been clear to the county in the aftermath of Storm Barra prior to this, the former Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District noted. “The reaction of emergency services across the board are to be commended. It is good to be here talking to you today after that,” he said. Among those helping were Cllr Liam Grant (GP) who works as a retained firefighter in Ennistymon who quipped that it wasn’t often the fire service give guards of honour to gaelic footballers lining out in county finals. “It’s a good thing when you walk away with your three sons in the car and one of them goes on to win a county final three hours later,” Garrihy added. He offered his commiserations to Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) seeing as St Breckans beat Lissycasey in the final, “we made the desirable attainable as you say”. The victory marked the end what he coined “a rollercoaster day”. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained by either of the travelling parties.

€10m funding for Shannon Airport PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

VER €10m has been allocated to Shannon Airport as part of a near total €108m announcement for Irish airports. As part of direct exchequer supports for airports in Shannon, Dublin, Cork, Knock, Kerry and Donegal, €107.981m is to be made available by the Department of Transport under the Regional Airports Programme 2021-2025, the Covid-19 Regional State Airports Programme 2021, as well as the Covid-19 Supplementary Supports Scheme for Irish Airports recently approved by the European Commission. In Shannon’s case, the funding is from the Covid-19 Regional State Airports Programme 2021 (€5.527m) and the Covid-19 Supplementary Supports Scheme for Irish Airports (€4.574m). So far in 2021, a total of €23.6m in capital funding has been allocated to Shannon Airport compared with Dublin Airport (€97.2m), Cork Air-

port (€25.1m), Knock (€6.5m), Kerry (€5.9m) and Donegal (€1.6m). Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton (FG) said of the €107.981m allocation, “this will go a long way towards enabling these airports to remain financially sustainable as they move beyond this current crisis and into 2022”. Shannon Group have welcomed the approval of €10m in funding to Shannon Airport. Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Group stated, “The aviation sector including airports have been at the epicentre of the devastation caused as a result of the pandemic. “As we focus on rebuilding connectivity, we warmly welcome the Government support announced by Minister Naughton through the inclusion of Shannon Airport in the Covid-19 Regional State Airports Programme 2021, and we are grateful of confirmation of final approval of the additional funding for the state airports under the Covid-19 Supplementary Supports Scheme for Irish Airports” recently approved by the European Commission. “This will assist in Shannon’s recovery from the Pandemic and rebuilding vital air connectivity for this Region”.

A potential Joe show for Fine Gael GE candidates

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UR UP O IN K C PI GUE ALO CAT RE NOW STO

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

PPROACHES have been made at a national level as Fine Gael begin the process of identifying suitable General Election candidates. Senior TDs in the party have made contact with individuals they believe could help the party to win two seats in the constituency, The Clare Echo has learned. Currently, Deputy Joe Carey (FG) is the party’s only TD in Clare with former Junior Minister Pat Breen (FG) losing his seat last February. Carey is an automatic to be on the ballot paper. Senator Martin Conway (FG) was eliminated on the sixth count of the 2020 General Election. The Ennistymon man has been a member of the Seanad since 2011. “I consider the General Election to be a long way off but when the time comes I have no doubt I’ll be keen to be on the ticket,” he said. Bunratty farmer, Joe Melody has been touted to appear on the ballot for the party following approaches by senior party figures. He is the nephew of former TD and Senator, Madeline Taylor-Quinn and has the potential to win over young voters while also appealing to an older cohort through his farming pedigree and to those in enterprise through his involvement in Melody Farm Pastured Eggs, the party feels “You can never be in businesses of ruling anything in or out in life in general,” Joe told The Clare Echo. He outlined that their

work on the farm was “very demanding” but also very enjoyable. He said he would consider the options put forward. Party sources have referenced the strong advocacy of Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) in fighting for homeowners affected by pyrite to be included in a redress scheme as a sign that he is eager to make the step-up to national politics with his work-ethic also lauded. Cooney topped the poll in the Killaloe electoral area for the 2009, 2014 and 2019 local elections securing 24.43%, 25.63% and 26.65% of the first preference vote respectively. Speaking to The Clare Echo, the O’Callaghans Mills man said, “I haven’t ruled anything in or out but I am of the belief that this Government will be in place for some years to come”. He said no approaches had been made to him, yet. Through her advocacy work for the HPV vaccine and community involvement, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) is seen as someone that has the potential to appeal to a wide range of demographics. The 2016 General Election told The Clare Echo, “A General Election is a long way off, I’ve made no decisions”. She acknowledged the need for more women to be in elected positions. For the 2019 local elections, Mary topped the poll in the Ennis Municipal District with 1,311 first preference votes. She went on to become Mayor of Clare in 2020. In July of this year, she was involved in controversy when Prime Time reported four separate incidents of expense claims for over-lapping events.

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Ozone step up once again with food drive to help people in need

Shannon Knights to reopen as The Terrace

by PÁRAIC Mc MAHON

ZONE HEALTH AND FITNESS is leading a Clare Christmas Food Drive to help families in need over the festive period. Items will be accepted until Friday so that management of the Ennis gym along with their dedicated team of volunteers will be able to have non-perishable food and other household items dropped off in time for Christmas. €3,000 worth of food and essential supplies were donated as part of the Christmas Food Drive last year in what was Ozone’s ﬁrst time getting involved in the initiative. Located in the Quin Rd Business Park, Ozone have

installed a donation box at its reception for members of the public to give items to help others this Christmas. Already the reaction has been overwhelming, management of the gym have said. Manager of Ozone, Mike Hogan stated that it was important to give back at this time of year. “Ennis is the best town in Ireland, we’re proud of our place and our people. This time of year is all about family and friends getting together to celebrate the year we had and the promise of the year to come. It is also a time to think of those less fortunate and true to our DNA as proud Irish people we reach out and help. “Last Christmas, the Ozone

team launched a food drive within our amazing community and we were humbled by our clients amazing generosity. “We’ve teamed up with some truly inspirational people led by local woman Kathleen Austin to lend a hand in what they have been doing for countless years,” Mike added. Kathleen explained that anything that is associated with Christmas such as turkey and ham would be ideal gifts for those less well off “so they they have that extra little bit of cash to pay a bill”. Families across Clare will beneﬁt from the Food Drive, Mike said, “This will make all the difference to families in Clare in need, our families our people”.

 LOCAL INSTITUTION: A newly renovated section of the bar in The Terrace

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

 GIVING: Ozone Food Drive

THE SHANNON KNIGHTS is to reopen under a new name and management. Having closed its doors for the final time in March 2021, the venue which first opened on St Patrick’s Day in 1972 will reopen to the public today (Thursday) as The Terrace Bar and Kitchen. Located at Shannon Town Centre, The Terrace Bar and Kitchen will open Wednesday to Friday from 4pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am. Their evening menu will be served until 9pm daily, while their weekend brunch menu runs from 11am - 3pm. Special Christmas hours will be announced. A total of twenty new positions have been created between kitchen and front of house in the initial opening phase, management have confirmed to The Clare Echo. Opening of the bar and restaurant marks the first phase of development under the new management. The second and third phases of redevelopment are due to be completed in 2022, the second phase includes the return of a nightclub to Shannon which is

scheduled for between St Patrick’s Day and Easter. Speaking to The Clare Echo, area operations manager Bryan Gill expressed their excitement with welcoming “both the local and business community in Shannon and surrounding areas to The Terrace Bar & Kitchen in the months and years ahead”. He referenced their evening offering including gluten-free fish and chips, striploin steak and “outstanding cocktail menu” as areas likely to impress customers. “We aim to deliver a product that exceeds expectations and places the customer experience at the forefront of everything we do,” he stated. “We have made a considerable investment to give the venue a new lease of life,” Bryan told The Clare Echo. At its peak more than 75 people were employed at the Shannon Knights, this figure reduced when it entered receivership in September 2016. A multi-million euro revamp was undertaken towards the end of the Celtic Tiger, accounts from 2015 detailed that bank loans of €3.3m had to be repaid. Its almost five decades of operation in Shannon saw it become a local institution.

Gardaí search Mill Road property in Ennis as part of large operation GARDAÍ conducted a large operation in Ennis early on Tuesday morning which resulted in no arrests, writes Páraic McMahon. A strong Garda presence was visible outside a property on the Mill Rd in Ennis between 06:20 and 07:00 on Tuesday morning. Up to a dozen Gardaí were on site outside the property where they engaged in

deliberations with a property owner before gaining access. When contacted by The Clare Echo, An Garda Síochána conﬁrmed that a Garda operation was carried out, no arrests were made and no property was seized. Details of the investigation could not be released “for operational purposes,” the Garda spokesperson stated.

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Market Clare as home of trad music by PÁRAIC Mc MAHON BRANDING Clare as the home of traditional music and dance can draw extra visitors to the county, a local representative has afﬁrmed. Clare County Council have been urged to examine the options “for positive brands at the various access points to the county,” in a proposal lodged before the local authority by Cllr Pat McMahon (FF). Acting Head of Tourism with the Council, Deirdre O’Shea outlined that the Council presently is involved with “positive destination brands” such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, the Shannon Estuary Way, the Lough Derg Blueway, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark as well as the incoming Burren Discovery Trail. All of these she explained encourage visitors to stay longer, engage more with the region’s offering, beneﬁt local communities and businesses, drive sustainable tourism and give locals a sense of pride of place. “In direct response to the motion requested, we will continue to liaise with Fáilte Ireland and State Agencies on the provision of additional directional signage to the above trails and ways”. Senior engineer, John Leahy flagged that signage on main access points to the county on the

national road network are controlled and designated by Transportation Infrastructure Ireland. Speaking at Monday’s Council meeting, Cllr McMahon referenced the “decimation of the hospitality sector in the past two years” as he argued that branding could help to give it a lift. He spoke of counties in England where a symbol or line is used to describe each area, “it leaves a seed of what the area is famous for”. Marketing Clare as “the home of traditional music, song and dance” was suggested by the Newmarket-on-Fergus native. He recalled sitting in glór where one person alongside him remarked, “by God you don’t appreciate what ye have in Co Clare”. He concluded, “We’re world champions when it comes to traditional music and Anthony Daly in 1995 brought huge positivity on it”. When it comes to branding Clare, a professional approach is needed, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) believed. “We need a consistent message from Flaggy Shore all the way to Loop Head and over to Lough Derg”. He continued, “We fly the flag for what we are, we know our unique selling points for each area. Change is not an easy thing, it doesn’t happen often”.

‘Help is always available’ PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

AMARITANS are encouraging the owners of buildings and landmarks across Clare to light up in green this Tuesday to show help is available on the longest night of the year. During the darkest hours for people that are struggling or lonely this Christmas, Samaritans will keep their helplines open. Volunteers on the 24-hour-helpline answered more than 35,000 calls in Ireland last December, including almost 1,000 contacts on Christmas Day alone. Concerns over loneliness and isolation increased last December on the national helpline, accounting for 38% of emotional support calls, followed by mental health/ illness, family issues and Covid 19. To show the public that there is help available, Samaritans are calling for personnel responsible to light up buildings and landmarks across the county in green this Tuesday (December 21st), the day in which darkness is more prevalent than any other in the year. Áras Contae an Chláir, Active Ennis Leisure Centre and the

 HOPE: Clare Co Co goes green

Clare Youth Centre are among the buildings that will turn green for the winter solstice. Businesses that wish to take part can email Ann at samsennis11@gmail.com. Margaret McMahon who is the branch director of Samaritans in Ennis outlined, “It has been a really difficult year for so many people with the pandemic affecting so many people’s health and wellbeing and this will be a very different Christmas for many people. We know that people struggle more

at Christmas, as it’s a time when loneliness can really hit home. We want people to know that we are available 24/7 for everyone on freephone 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie “. Anyone can contact Samaritans FREE any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on your phone bill. Or you can email jo@samaritans.ie or visit https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/branches/ennis/.

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‘Our rights are being denied’

by PÁRAIC McMAHON UBLIC TRANSPORT is hindering persons with disabilities from employment opportunities, a Shannon based activist has claimed. Padraic Hayes was among the speakers for National Sharing Day hosted by the National Disabilities Quality Improvement Office. The thirty eight year old has cerebral palsy and is a former Chairman of the Clare Leader Forum. The National Transport Authority (NTA) aspires to make bus and rail services available to all communities, “the reality is very different,” he said. Speaking to The Clare Echo, the Shannon man highlighted difficulties he has experienced with both Bus Éireann and Local Link. The 343 Bus Éireann service from Ennis to Limerick “is not accessible for wheelchair users but bus stops have been adapted for wheelchair users while the bus service remains non-accessible, I thought myself this was very silly to get the bus stops accessible and not have the transport provided”. A spokesperson for Bus Éireann said it “makes every effort to provide accessible public transport to individuals and communities across Ireland”. The spokesperson said it provides a wheelchair accessible service on the 343 route but 24 hours prior notice must

be given as not all vehicles can facilitate the request. Bus fleets on city and town services “are 100 percent wheelchair accessible”. “During 2022 additional low floor vehicles will be allocated to the Bus Éireann fleet and it is envisaged that all PSO routes in County Clare will be converted to a low floor operation during the year,” the spokesperson outlined. Regarding Local Link’s C4 service from Ennis to Shannon via Newmarket-on-Fergus, Padraic said it operated under “very restrictive hours” with pre-booking required and just one wheelchair spot. He stated, “People with disabilities cannot have a social life or cannot look for a job or employment because these hours are so restrictive, it has no evening or weekend services, it also has no inter-linking with no opportunity to go from Limerick from Shannon”. Manager of TFI Local Link Limerick & Clare, Anne Gaughan said the C4 service begins in Ennis at 08:20 and concludes at 16:50. “Every route has different levels of demand and caters for different needs be it commuters, day care centre service users, school students,” she stated. Public consultation is underway on the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, she noted with local route proposals mentioning Shannon in a new route to Limerick via Sixmilebridge.

She stressed that Local Link was “always open to hearing the needs of our passengers and prospective passengers. To date we have not received any requests for a change to our C4 timetable. I would encourage anyone who has an unmet transport need to contact us as soon as possible as this feeds directly into future route development plans”. For the past 10 years, Padraic has been confined to a wheelchair as his condition has deteriorated, he has had a wheelchair all of his life. During the last decade as his condition worsened, Padraic’s mother Theresa passed away, she had assisted in transporting him to wherever he needed to go. “Bus services should be available daily including evenings and weekends, disabled people have the right to a social life, be able to work and have the same equal opportunities as everyone else”. “No one really knows what it is like unless you are in the person’s shoes, it won’t dawn on you unless you’ve direct experience of it,” Hayes added. A masters graduate of TUS, Padraic is currently a social inclusion representative on Clare County Council’s Physical Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC). He is due to start a new job with Shannon-based Cregg Medical in January, initially this will be remotely, access to public transport was of no benefit when securing this post, he flagged.

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‘How will I survive without her?’

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

HEARTBROKEN Marty Morrissey has paid an emotional tribute to his beloved mother Peggy. Huge crowds of mourners attended the funeral of Peggy Morrissey at St Mary’s Church in Mullagh on Sunday. The Cork native died following a single vehicle road collision in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Former RTÉ Northern Editor, Tommie Gorman plus representatives from President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin (FF) were in attendance alongside many friends, neighbours and colleagues of Marty. Ruan’s Sharon Shannon and Tommy Fleming were among those to provide music at the mass. Among the items placed in front of the altar as symbols of her life were a family photo, Peggy’s rosary beads and prayer book, her red lipstick, her driver’s license, a Cork flag as well as the Statue of Liberty. Peggy was described by her only child, RTÉ broadcaster

HEARTBROKEN: Peggy and Marty Morrissey Marty as a rebel proud of hailing from North Clare with a love of human contact, craic and banter. “She was loyal, determined, witty, funny, deeply religious, a daily mass goer, so loving, a fabulous wife and adoring mother. She was also a 5ft 4in force of nature, argumentative, stubborn, fiercely independent, intensely confident and to be honest really annoying on occasion. “This was Peggy Morrissey. In my humble opinion, the greatest Irish mother in the history of motherhood,” said Marty who admitted it was “an honour” to be her only child. He said the days after her death represented the

worst of his life. Phone calls were exchanged between Marty and Peggy every morning at 10am, lunchtime, after 4pm, following the Six:One News, at 10pm and again when she was in bed. Thinking of not having that daily contact prompted Marty’s voice to break from the altar, “my mother was no ordinary woman. How am I going to survive without her”. His mother had two major fears, Marty revealed. “She hated the thought that she could one day end up in a home for some reason. I would never, ever have allowed that happen to her. And she hated wind and

storms with a passion”. “She was a rogue, as you here will have known. She always put on a seatbelt when she was in my car, whether we would be driving to Spanish Point or up to Knock. I learned over the last few days that she didn’t wear her seatbelt when she was driving herself ”. Marty paid tribute to the emergency services who said three Hail Mary’s with him when they took his mother from her car. He thanked his three families for all the love they showed him during recent days – his friends in the parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane, his colleagues in RTÉ and the GAA community. He concluded, “I loved my mother with all my heart. I spent all my life with her. She gave me everything - total and utter unconditional love. I will miss her so much. My life has changed this week. Mom, I adored the ground you walked on. My life revolved around you, and I would do it all again if I could. We were a team: the most formidable mother and son team in the world. I have to let you go now, mom. Go to dad and tell him I loved him too”.

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Officials took a month to put pyrite concerns in writing by PÁRAIC McMAHON DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING officials took over a month to put concerns in writing regarding Clare’s application to be included in a defective concrete block redress scheme. Since September 2020, the Council’s housing section has worked with the Pyrite Action Group on an extension of the defective concrete block scheme, Director of Service, Anne Haugh outlined. On 8th October 2020, the Council issued the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with a request to extend the scheme to Clare. A response from the Department followed on 23rd November outlining the need for “rigorous analysis” with a meeting to discuss the response held between the Council and Action Group on 27th November. At a further meeting on 27th January 2021, the Action Group was invited to select the five properties for testing. All five property owners selected the same engineer and notified the Council in early February 2021. Clare’s submission to the Department was sent on 23rd July. This submission was acknowledged by the Department on 3rd August 2021. Detail of the Clare submission was discussed at an online meeting with Department officials on 9th November 2021. Ms Haugh recalled that “some concerns were expressed” by the Department. The specifics of these concerns were requested by the Council but were not issued by the Department until 6th December 2021. “It is a pity it took so long,” said Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) of the Department taking one month to put their concerns in writing. Engagement with the consultant engineer and the Council has resumed “with a view to formulating a detailed response to the correspondence and to address the issues raised by the Dept. Senior Council officials met with the engineer on Monday morning.

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THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Population projections ‘will be the end of rural Clare’ PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

OPULATION projections for the county as they stand “will be the end of rural Clare,” an elected representative has claimed. Clare councillors have been vocal in their concern over population projections set out in the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) Under the RSES, population projections estimate between 129,500 – 131,500 will live in Clare by 2026 and 134,000 – 137,000 by 2031. At present the county has a population of 119,000, between 2006 and 2016 there was an increase of 7,867 in individuals in Clare. Legal advice on the “legality and constitutionality of proposed population allocations” in County Development Plans was sought by Cllr PJ Kelly (FF).

Director of Service, Liam Conneally, explained that a core strategy must be included in the preparation of all County Development Plans which will have consistent objectives with the NPF and RSES. “This response has been collated following consultation with the County Solicitor who has advised that it is difficult to see how a quantitative based strategy for the spatial development of the county could be argued to be unconstitutional in a general sense”. Absence of a legal response was disappointing, Cllr Kelly told a recent sitting of the Council. The “huge” projection increases for urban areas according to Kelly “effectively this will be the end of rural Clare”. “Services are normally directed towards the population and population growth areas, the continuation of a service can be justified by the numbers, a diminished population for North-West Clare will see banks and post offices close, the Department of Education will cut teachers, clubs won’t

NUMBERS: Action from the Minor B hurling ﬁnal

Photo by Ruth Grifﬁn

have numbers to put out underage teams,”he cautioned. Former Chairman of Clare GAA, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) noted of the two teams involved in this year’s Minor B hurling final, they comprised of four parishes, Scariff/Ogonnelloe and Bodyke/O’Callaghans Mills, “if we go ahead with our new County

Development Plan in March 2023 there will be three of those parishes not able to build any type of housing development during the lifetime of the County Development Plan which is a serious concern. “None of the teams had big panels, in the Mills Bodyke team we had U15s playing”.

Burglary after men convince resident to leave home by PÁRAIC McMAHON THREE men targeted a Quin woman resulting in the burglary of her handbag on Wednesday last (December 8th). A resident of Quin Gardens in the village reported that at some stage between 16:30 and 17:30 on Wednesday last that three men called to her house looking for payment for work they claimed to have carried out. One of the men invited the woman to view the so-called completed work which was outside her house, when she left the house to inspect the work, another member of the male trio entered her home and she observed him leaving the house. After a short period, the woman discovered that her handbag had been taken from the front living room of her house. Gardaí investigating the incident have identiﬁed a white Ford pick-up van as the vehicle used by the three men. Any persons that have had sightings of this van in the area are asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 0656848100.

NEWS 17

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Drop in Covid cases as vaccine centre relocates by PÁRAIC McMAHON WITHIN the space of 24 hours, Co Clare went from having the highest 7 day incidence rate of COVID-19 to dropping below the national average. It comes as the HSE has announced the COVID-19 vaccination centre will temporarily relocate to Treacy’s West County Hotel this Saturday and Sunday to maximise capacity in line with demand for weekend walk-in COVID vaccine booster clinics for the 50-69 years age group. Walk-in COVID-19 Booster Clinics for 50-69s will run at the hotel this Saturday from 8.30am7pm, and on Sunday from 1pm-7pm. Anyone who has received a notiﬁcation for a scheduled appointment at the former outpatients department of Ennis Hospital on Sunday morning should attend. No appointment required at the walk-in booster clinics in the West County for those in the 50-69 years age group. Anyone attending should note that, in accordance with national guidance, three months (90 days) must have passed since you received your Dose 2 vaccine. Anyone who had the single-dose Janssen vaccine, must wait at least three months before receiving a Booster dose. Data published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on Tuesday showed that Co Clare had the highest seven day incidence rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 of the population at 54.90. However within the space of 24 hours, Clare went from the highest rate to 45.60 which was the 13th highest in the country and was below the national average of 47.48.

Melody Eggs shortlisted at European farming congress

by PÁRAIC McMAHON N EGG enterprise from Newmarket-on-Fergus has been shortlisted in the top 14 of EU member states at the European Congress of Young Farm-

ers. Melody Farm Eggs were discussed within the European Parliament as the Bunratty business came out in the top 14 of applications from all member states of the European Union.

Young farmers are highlighted and rewarded in the Congress for sustainable and innovative ideas and practices that address the challenges facing the agricultural sector, such as generational renewal, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security and technological advances. The Prize was introduced in 2012 to better recognise the central role, played by young farmers in rural areas and acknowledge the innovative approaches they apply in their farming activity. This year’s theme focused on building

EGGCELENT: Frank Melody

Photo by John Mangan

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resilient businesses in rural areas with the Melodys shortlisted based on the growth of their business. Within the past year and a half, a 400% growth has been recorded for Melody Farm Eggs, a venture established by Frank Melody in April 2020. Their recognition is “testament to what we’re doing” by applying the principle of grassland dairying to poultry leanings, explained Joe Melody. The former Biodiversity Young Farmer of the Year said this will heighten their profile both nationally and across Europe leading to further opportunities. They faced off with companies with huge marketing departments and over ten years experience. “It is a great honour for us to be shortlisted, it is an endorsement of our work so far, it will open up new opportunities to us, we’ve met a lot of good people through it. A lot of people are very interested in the business, it has opened up a new profile for us and it has put on a European stage, there has been a lot of interest since it has been announced,” Joe told The Clare Echo. He stressed, “none of this was possible without the support of our customers, we’re really enjoying supplying a high premium egg direct to consumer. We’ve great people around us who have helped us achieve this. The role of young farmers is really important and we are delighted to be flying flag for Ireland in Europe”.

18 NEWS

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

ebecca O’Neill

Help the homeless

This Christmas, make an effort to help those less well off than you, writes Clare Echo columnist Rebecca O’Neill

PREADING awareness on topics you’re very passionate about is extremely important and can make a large impact. When learning about what the homeless have to deal with during any time of year, it influences me to talk about this crisis a lot more. Christmas is about a lot of things. It can be viewed in so many different ways due to what we associate the festive season with. For me, it highlights memories with family and gives us an opportunity to share our love through gifts. This time of year holds so much meaning. This Christmas, think about making a difference by helping the homeless and the many different organisations that exist in this area. SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL This charity has contributed to so many people throughout its journey. Located in Ennis, they provide clothing and organise social housing projects to ensure everyone has a home. This organisation also provides help for the elderly and fundraisers for holiday breaks and provides day care centres. They also help with education grants and provide opportunities for a better future. To donate or volunteer just visit their website at www.svp.ie

query such as finance, audit and risk, service development, staff wellness and fundraising. To support this extremely impactful charity visit www.midwestsimon.ie

APPEAL: SVP

MID-WEST SIMON COMMUNITY This well renowned charity offers so many helping hands involving, housing services, family services, food, drop off services and much more. With a very committed team behind this, it makes a huge impact on ending homelessness. It is governed by a voluntary board of directors. It is made up of very experienced and driven people in the fields of Human Resources, Management, financial communications and education. This organisation provides four committees to cover every

FOCUS IRELAND This organisation is based in Dublin and provides street work services to young people, advice, advocacy, information and help when trying to find a home or a warm welcoming place with a fresh meal. This charity aims to keep researching and doing advocacy work to keep the topic in the political agenda. This charity has made a change in the homeless crisis and they are extremely passionate about having a voice and fixing this subject. To donate you can simply visit their website www.focusireland.ie When supporting charities as good as these it really makes you feel good knowing they exist. The homeless will suffer during the colder months and may not even get a Christmas dinner. No human being should ever be without a roof over their head, no matter what the circumstances are. Donations have helped charities across the country to make a difference on someone’s life in creating a safe and healthy space for them.

Fleming elected to UL Governing Authority

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

Please do not grieve alone We listen and support You are welcome to contact us by call or text

Call or text

086 0565373 087 369 8315 www.claresuicidebereavementsupport.com

UAMGRANEY historian, Dr David Fleming (inset) has been elected to the University of Limerick’s Governing Authority. A native of Cork, Fleming was elected to fill a vacancy with the result announced on December 7th. A historian of eighteenth-century Ireland, he has published on topics ranging from provincial politics, poverty, religious conversion, associational behaviour and prostitution. In 2012, he was commissioned to write UL’s official history. He is a treasurer of the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement, an interdisciplinary forum for historians, geographers, archaeologists and others interested in settlement history in Ireland. He is also secretary of the Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society. Since 2013, he has been chairman of the Irish Georgian Foundation and a trustee of the Hunt Museums' Trust. Over the past year, David has become a regular voice on Scariff Bay Community Radio acting as an almost weekly contributor to The Local Media Show as well as assisting in the presenting of Saturday Chronicle alongside Jim Collins and John S. Kelly. There are 29 Governing Authority Members, Dr Fleming is one of four academic and re-

search staff representatives. Its term is due to expire on November 30th 2022, its Chancellor is Mary Harney, the former leader of the Progressive Democrats who was the country’s first female Tanáiste (1997 – 2006) and during the course of fourteen years held senior ministerial portfolios in health, enterprise, trade and employment. She is the longest-serving female member of Dáil Éireann. Ennis native, Professor Seán Arkins, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering is one of three professors sitting on the Governing Authority. He graduated from UCD with a degree in veterinary medicine and holds MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois. Seán served on the faculty at Illinois State University and joined UL in 1998. President of UL Student Life, Cillian O’Donohue who also hails from Ennis is among the two student representatives. A past pupil of St Flannan’s College, he graduated from UL in August with a degree in business studies. Former Chairperson of Shannon Group, Rose Hynes of New Quay also sits on UL’s Governing Authority. She is also formerly the Chair of Bord Gáis/Ervia and also served as a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland, Ffyes plc, Mincon and Aer Lingus.

Arts & Entertainment 19

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Connection to Scariﬀ Martyrs still strong 101 years on

by PÁRAIC McMAHON AR and murder in East Clare is evoked in Tomás Mac Conmara’s latest book, The Scariff Martyrs a project that was 17 years in the making. It tells the story of ‘the four who fell’, one of the most enduring tales from the War of Independence in Clare and one when recalled 101 years on still brings tears to the eyes of people in the area Michael ‘Brud’ McMahon, Alphie Rodgers, Martin Gildea, three IRA Volunteers, together with Michael Egan, a civilian who had sheltered them, were shot dead on the bridge of Killaloe by British Crown Forces. The shooting took place at midnight on November 16th, 1920, at the height of Ireland’s War of Independence. It was an incident that wounded the local community, leaving a pain that would echo across the generations. An award-winning oral historian, Tomás knew the feeling of the Scariff Martys long before he was aware of its history, such is the way it is intrinsically bound in East Clare. How people relayed the story to the Tuamgraney man was as significant as the detail provided. Examples he references are of the late Paddy Rodgers recounting that his grand-mother would drop her head any time he quizzed his grand-father Ned on the subject, always leading to the end of the discussion on the matter. “Observing somebody else’s pain, that was invaluable,” he said and flagged how the early interviews with Paddy Gleeson and Margaret Hoey, children at the time of the 1920 murders brought “a different level of insight which was really powerful” given their intimate memories. Readers are in agreement that Tomás has succeeded in bringing

 HISTORY: The Scariff Martyrs

the event to life and making it feel like they are on Killaloe Bridge as they turn the pages. This primarily is due to his style of mixing conventional records with oral history. “The difference perhaps with my approach is I insist on not just tacking on a couple of interviews to the end of the project, it is centred in the understanding of memory and experience. Whenever the Scariff Martyrs happened, we look back on it in a chronological way, we know the date it happened and we know that four days later Bloody Sunday happened, when this happened Bloody Sunday hadn’t happened and wasn’t on the consciousness of people. We understood looking back in a time

sequential way but for people it is just pure emotion and experience, they are not considering what date of the year it is, it is just pure pain and to access that you need to access the memory, if you can get those statistical pieces of evidence in your archives and they are massively important but unless you have the memory in there you’re not going to be able to present that type of experience that you need to as a historian”. By doing this, he was also able to uncover how the uncle of one Feakle man he spoke to drove one of the four horse carriages bringing the bodies back to Scariff for Loughnane Funeral Homes at the age of seventeen. “You’re putting

the foundation of human experience underneath it, if people see that as bringing it closer to the history then that is what I wanted to achieve,” he outlined. Bloody Sunday’s occurrence four days after the murders of McMahon, Rodgers, Gildea and Egan has overshadowed how the Scariff Martyrs are remembered in Irish history. “Certainly the fact it happened the weekend after it did overshadow it at a national level, it had got prominence in terms of newspaper coverage and debates within the House of Commons had been intense with Joe Devlin and others but there was a traction nationally for the story but then it faded away to a degree but I don’t think that necessarily had an impact locally, the memory is incredibly strong locally or at least the connection to it”. Not alone as an East Clare man is Tomás connected to the story through that but also the fact that his late grand-mother, Mary O’Brien neé Hill once danced with Michael Egan when she was nineteen and he twenty two, she could recall how “gentle, quiet and shy” he was. “Towards the end of the book, I mention that Michael Egan should have been forgotten and we should never have heard of his name, he would probably have lived a quiet, humble life and no one would have talked about him ever again but because of his fate that day, he will be remembered forever and it’s one of those paradoxes of that experience”. McMahon, Rodgers and Gildea were active members of the fourth battalion of the East Clare IRA. Gildea was a big advocate of Irish culture particularly dancing while McMahon and Rodgers were strong promoters of the Irish language. “They were involved in physical force, I haven’t shied away from that in the book, they were involved in shooting members of

 HERITAGE: Tomás Mac Conmara Photo by Ruth Grifﬁn

the British forces, they were fully committed IRA men”. Initially it was planned to hold the launch in Killaloe but the alternative open-air arrangements actually added to the story, Mac Conmara believed. . “In terms of the emotion that was there, the fact that we were 200 yards away from where the lads are buried, the fact that the singers put so much emotion into it and we were in a hurling field which is so bound up with our gaelic culture and identity, it really contributed to a powerful and emotional evening for everybody there”. During his teenage years, Tomás began recording oral history, the story of The Scariff Martyrs as “a proud Tuamgraney and East Clare man” is one stirred up an intense local connection. “This story means so much to people, not just the families but the community generally, I’ve spoken to so many people and you can immediately see the tears welling up in their eyes when they talk about it”. The Scariff Martyrs: War, Murder and Memory in East Clare is published by Mercier Press and is available in all good bookshops.

20 NEWS

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

SHANNON NEWS in association with

Shannon to Philadelphia service paused due to American Airlines reduction PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

MERICAN AIRLINES will not be running its service from Shannon Airport to Philadelphia this summer. Boeing’s delays delivering new 787 Dreamliners have led to American Airlines having to reduce its amount of international flights next summer and the Shannon Airport to Philadelphia service is among those impacted. The presence of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was set to mark the first time an airline used the aircraft on a route to North America from Shannon. A draft internal memo has revealed that American Airlines will not be flying to Shan-

non, Hong Kong or Edinburgh or Shannon in 2022 and will reduce flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Sydney. Boeing has delayed the delivery of its popular wide-body 787 Dreamliners to carriers for over a year as it grapples with manufacturing problems. Shannon’s service to Philadelphia operated between May and October each year prior to March 2020. The resumption of the route was announced in September. On Thursday evening, a spokesperson for Shannon Group confirmed to The Clare Echo that its service was among those impacted by the American Airlines reduction. “The aviation sector has taken a battering during the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery was always going to take time. Due to a

ON HOLD: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner

shortage of aircraft as a result of delayed delivery of Boeing 787 aircraft, American Airlines have been forced to reduce a number of routes they operate worldwide. Among these is their Philadelphia to Shannon service”.

No commitment on the resumption of the service for the 2023 summer season has been issued but efforts are ongoing, the spokesperson said. “Shannon Airport is working with them on restoring this service for 2023. In the meantime, Shannon will see the welcome resumption of transatlantic services next year to New York and Boston with Aer Lingus, and to Newark with United”.

New personnel elected to Love Shannon Community Council by PÁRAIC McMAHON A NEW committee has been elected to the Love Shannon Community Council. Founded in the aftermath of the failure to secure adequate funding for The Venue, a planned social, civic and cultural space for the town, Love Shannon has evolved from a community group aiming to make the area a better place to live and work into a Community Council.

CHAIR: Derek Clune

Over a fortnight ago, Love Shannon held a public meeting in an attempt to recruit new individuals as ofﬁcers prior to holding an AGM. On Wednesday last, Derek Clune a volunteer with Shannon Tidy Towns and former GAA referee was returned as Chairman. Darragh O’Connor owner of Texaco in Shannon was also returned to the role of Vice Chairman. Ballycar based

Fiona O’Brien Maxwell is among the new additions to the Community Council. Niamh O’Callaghan, one of the founding members of Love Shannon vacated the role of secretary and treasurer with Audrey Conway and Tony Walsh taking on roles following her departure. Gerry Murphy, Elton Good, Denise O’Brien and Dara O’Callaghan were also co-founders but did not hold officer positions prior to this year’s AGM. Presently, the Community Council are analysing the draft of the Shannon Town Centre Masterplan and intend to make a submission to Clare County Council on this in the coming weeks. Their meetings in the New Year will focus on setting out a new vision and role for the town of Shannon and the role Love Shannon will play in this. The new committee is made up as follows: Derek Clune (Chairperson); Darragh O’Connor (Vice Chairperson); Audrey Conway (Secretary); Fiona O’Brien Maxwell (Assistant Secretary); Tony Walsh (Treasurer); Dara Gough (Assistant Treasurer); Martin McNeilis (Communications Officer/ PRO); Brendan Wall (Assistant Communications Officer/PRO).

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

in association with

Frustration voiced over continued absence of ﬂood maps PÁRAIC MCMAHON

WORKS: Flooding in Clareabbey in February 2020

Photo by Joe Buckley

paraic@clareecho.ie

RUSTRATION has been voiced with the continued absence flood maps to represent the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme. First tendered for in 2017, the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme began construction in March 2019. In June 2019 two separate ground slippages occurred on existing embankments in the Clareabbey area of the River Fergus, the OPW said, which revealed “ground conditions were considerably worse than expected”. The discovery had seen the budget jump from €10.8m, VAT-inclu-

sive, in 2018, to €19.7m. Timelines issued in February targeted a conclusion of works on the scheme in August, a deadline

that has been missed. OPW were requested by Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) to issue updated maps representing

Maintenance programme sought for walking trail by PÁRAIC McMAHON TRIP hazards on the walking trails surrounding the grounds of Clare Camogie need to be tackled, an Ennis county councillor has stated. Addition of a regular maintenance programme at the walking trails of Fr McNamara Park was sought by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) at the December meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. “It gets very overgrown and the weeds and briars have become trip hazards,” she highlighted. Maintenance works continue to take place to the walking trails “similar to 2020,” executive engineer Anthony Considine replied. Works took place in November outside of the bird nesting season, he conﬁrmed. Fr McNamara Park was described by

Cllr Howard as “a really popular community amenity” and “a little haven”. Residents on the Quin Rd contact the former Mayor of Clare every spring on the matter. Due to the trails getting overgrown “so quickly,” Howard asked that a regular programme of maintenance be introduced. “I’m talking about cutting the stuff at ground level to allow people to walk, bring a buggy in and have comfort. Some of the people in touch have small toddlers and can’t let them off because they will be tripped and fall over”. Developing the old town dump into the home of Clare Camogie and Ennis Men’s Shed has been a very positive move, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) remarked as he supported the proposal.

POPULAR: Clare subs at Fr McNamara Park Photo by Burren Eye Photography

the flood relief works completed at Toberteascain “so that our next County Development Plan will benefit therefrom, and not be hindered by their absence”. Flood maps which will detailing the areas that will benefit the scheme are not yet completed nor is the scheme itself, senior engineer Seán Lenihan outlined. Scheme consultants Ryan Hanley and specialist hydrological consultants, Hydro Environmental are currently working on the maps. Once completed and reviewed by the Council, they will then be forwarded to the OPW for their consideration and approval. After this, they will be made publicly available and may be used by the Insurance Industry and indeed the Planning Authority as a

tool to inform further in relation to particular locations. The maps will be “useful in considering any potential submissions” received as part of the Development Plan. As efforts to prepare the County Development Plan continue, Cllr Colleran Molloy stressed, “we want to ensure we adequately zone lands for all needs most especially housing of all types”. She interpreted from the response that the Plan will not be hindered without the maps. Mapping “will be instrumental to help homeowners get home insurance,” the Quin native said. Up to €14m has been spent on the construction of the scheme “but low and behold there are no maps, I can’t understand it,” Cllr Pat Daly (FF) lamented.

22 FEATURES

New traditions

RONAN SCULLY

Thought for the week

VERY year and especially this year the season of Christmas comes to draw us out of these feelings of uncertainty, hopelessness and even at times despair that we have been feeling for the past year or so because of this dreadful pandemic by reminding us that we are called to move out of the darkness of selfishness and greed to live in the light of giving and goodness. Our feelings of utter powerlessness especially in these times of Covid-19 remind us that we do need a Saviour, one who is coming into our lives and into the life of our world again at Christmas time. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the presents under the Christmas tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, the Christmas emails, long distance phone calls from family and friends, turkey and ham dinners, maybe if we’re lucky snow, stockings hanging in the living room and bedrooms, and shouts of “Happy Christmas” to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really what Christmas means to me or you?

‘Tis the Season

“It was only four days before Christmas. The spirit of the season hadn’t yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local supermarket store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last minute shoppers jammed the aisles. Why did I come today? I wondered. My feet ached almost as much as my head. My list contained names of several people who claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt if I didn’t buy them anything. Buying for someone who had everything and deploring the high cost of items, I considered gift-buying anything but fun. Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last minute items and proceeded to the long checkout lines. I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20 minute wait. In front of me were two small children - a boy of about 6 and a younger girl. The boy wore a ragged coat. Enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much too short jeans. He clutched several coins in his grimy hands. The girl’s clothing resembled her brother’s. Her head was a matted mass of curly hair. Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers. As the Christmas music played in the store’s stereo system, the girl hummed along, off-key but happily.

When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure. The clerk rang up the bill. “That will be €6.09,” she said. The boy laid his coins atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with €3.12. “I guess we will have to put them back, “ he bravely said. “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow.” With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. “But Jesus would have loved these shoes, “ she cried. “Well, we’ll go home and work some more. Don’t cry. We’ll come back,” he said. Quickly I handed €3.00 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, after all, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, “Thank you kind sir.” “What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked. The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus.” The girl spoke, “My school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes.” “Won’t mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these shoes?” My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear streaked face. “Yes” I answered, “I am sure she will.” Silently I thanked God for using these children to remind me of the true spirit of giving.” ‘Tis the Season!! Remember that it’s better to give than receive.

For me Christmas is…

A gift of love wrapped in human flesh and tied securely with the strong promises of God. Christmas is angelic music in the form of a carol and oratorio with a celestial descant. Christmas is “glory to God,” “good will to people,” and “joy to the world.” Christmas is “peace on earth” for those who accept it and live in unity with God’s will. Christmas is a person on duty keeping all of us safe and in good health and a person tending animals, or land, or the sick, or homeless or machine, who senses the upward call and stops to worship. Christmas is a tall green tree which serves as a festive altar for any household which discovers the true meaning behind it all. Christmas is a ringing bell calling a distraught humanity to gladness and hope. Christmas is a glowing hearth gently placed in the winter of people’s loneliness. Christmas is an altar to which a person can bring their heartache for comfort, their lostness for guidance,

and their sin for forgiveness. Christmas is the sparkle of anticipation and the steady light of faith in the eyes of a little child as he hears the old, old story. Christmas is the shining star of hope in the sky of all humankind. Christmas is more than words can tell, for it is a matter for the heart to receive, believe and understand. Christmas is more than a time of music, merriment and mirth; it is a season of meditation, prayers, mangers and miracles. Christmas is more than a time of gaiety, greenery and gifts; it is a season of wonder, worship and wisemen. Christmas is more than Santa, stockings and surprises; it is about Christ’s real care, love and concern for each and everyone of us of all religions and none!

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, especially during this Christmas season, look at ways you can help create a world in which human dignity, kindness, mercy, genuineness, forgiveness, love and care is respected and where everyone can reach their full potential. The Christmas story is very simple: it tells of a birth, the birth of a first child to poor parents with an uncertain future. So what is it about the story that holds such appeal, that has allowed so many other stories and traditions to grow up around it? Why does it have such a place in our hearts? Perhaps it has to do with the way it taps into our deepest longings, those things we desire that can help us cope with just about anything: love and trust. There is much generous love in the story, and with it a sense of wonder that God could be so intimately involved with something so simple. Shepherds are amazed, wise men are humbled and a young woman treasures all these things in her heart. In the midst of the love we are all invited, just like the people in the story to trust that God is here and cares deeply as each of us deals with the joys and sorrows , the hopes and disappointments of everyday life especially during these worrying and uncertain times of the Coronavirus. The Christmas story affirms that we all have a value and a unique dignity that lifts us up and empowers us to move beyond ourselves and to take the risk of reaching out to others, always trusting that God is present in the simple stuff. “Lord, As we celebrate another Christmas, help us to live each moment gratefully. May we have the faith to trust in the gifts you have given us. May we have the hope that overcomes the dark thoughts that sometimes cloud our vision. May we have the love that makes our world a better place. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Amen.”

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Gardaí reach out to most vulnerable

HELPING HAND: Garda Ailish Hanley, Sgt Seamus Mulligan Sgt I/C Shannon Garda Station , Gerry Murphy EI Electronics, Linda Donnellan Rowanberry, Peter Gunter Premier Insurance and Legal Services, Inspector Paul Slattery and Garda Thomas Downey Photo by Joe Buckley

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

ENIOR and vulnerable citizens in Cratloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Shannon and Sixmilebridge are being gifted treats as part of a festive initiative. Shannon Garda Station in conjunction with local businesses have come together to provide a helping hand for senior and vulnerable citizens in the area. Between December 13th and 17th, Shannon Gardaí will be bringing hot meals, a mince pie and a Christmas hamper of essential foods and goodies to show their thanks and appreciation to 159 elderly and vulner-

able people living in the area. Included in the hamper is a Christmas card from Junior and Senior infants pupils from schools within the locality. Ordinarily, a Christmas event is held by Shannon Garda Station, this initiative has been organised as an alternative to reach out to persons that may be in need of support. “Because they can’t come to us, we’re going to them,” explained Inspector Paul Slattery By getting young children involved it is hoped to increase community spirit by starting conversations at home which may result in visits to an elderly neighbour, Insp Slattery added. “It has been a tough number of years for all involved but it is hoped that this would provide a smile behind the mask for all who availed of it”.

First people to hit West Clare airwaves RAIDIO Corca Baiscinn, the Community Radio Station for South West Clare, have announced a new radio documentary series called First People, writes Elaine Tubridy. This four part series to be broadcast in half an hour programmes explores the 2016 findings of ‘Irish Archaeology’ which was able to date the human made butcher marks on a bear bone found in the Alice and Gwendolene cave (originally escavated in 1902) near Ennis. Until then it wasbelieved that human settlement in Ireland began in 8,000 BC with the discovery of a site in Mount Sandel in Derry. Archaeologist Marion Dowd and her associate Dr Ruth Carden used radio carbon dating and found that the bone and knife marks dated back as early as 12,500 years ago meaning that the existence of humans in Ireland is actual-

ly 2,500 years earlier than we thought. Co. Clare now has the oldest existence of humans in Ireland on record. In programme one (which aired on Monday, December 13), RCB reporter Ben Panther talks to Historian John Rattigan who talks about the history of Thomas Westropp. He originally escavated the Alice and Gwendolene cave in 1902 and documented amongst the samples a bear bone, observing it had knife marks on it. Marion Dowd then talks to Ben Panther about the carbon dating carried out by her and Dr Ruth Carden in 2016. The remaining programmes will take listeners on a historical journey from the Ice Age all the way up to present day, where Lorna Moloney, talks about recent developments in the analysis of DNA. First People will broadcast on Mondays at 6pm on RCB.

FEATURES 23

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

GREEN CLARE

‘Ash dieback a virus nearly worse than Covid’ - Burke

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

W H I T E G AT E councillor has said the Ash Dieback disease “is a virus nearly worse than COVID-19”. Anger with the lack of progress made by Minister of State for Forestry, Senator Pippa Hackett (GP) was voiced by Cllr Pat Burke (FG) at Monday’s sitting of Clare County Council. He said it was time for the Junior Minister to address the concerns of farmers and landowners whose Ash Tree plantations have suffered as a result. Ash dieback is a serious disease of ash trees caused by the invasive fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus which originates in Asia and was brought to Europe in the early 90s. Today, the pathogen covers most of the natural range of ash in Europe causing high mortality rates of ash trees. It was first detected in the Republic of Ireland in October 2012

PROBLEM: Ash dieback

on plants imported from continental Europe. The disease is now prevalent throughout most of the island of Ireland and is likely to cause the death of the majority of the ash trees over the next two decades. The disease can affect ash trees of any age and in any setting. The disease can be fatal, particularly among younger trees. Ash dieback is more severe in wet sites, where it is more likely to cause collar infections in ash trees. “She has let us down big time on this issue,” Cllr Burke said of the Junior Minister. “I’m not sure if it’s because she is a Senator that she hasn’t adequate powers or what it is,” he stated. “Ash dieback is a virus nearly worse than COVID,” the two-time Leas Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council remarked. Most of the ash trees planted in recent decades will be killed off because of the disease, he lamented. “Bureaucratic” obstacles are preventing the Ash Dieback replant-

ing scheme from having much benefit, Burke felt. The scheme provides financial support to help replant forests affected by the disease. “Sad is the only way I can sum it up,” he concluded. An amount of farmers in Clare were encouraged to plant native hardwoods but have left been disappointed, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said as he referenced “a whole fiasco around our forest service and felling licences”. He added, “People in goodwill planted for the future in woodlands and they were let down, we all know about the history of hurling in Clare,” the Chairman of Killanena GAA club

continued. Plans for a hurling plantation came undone in Clonlara when three acres worth of ash became infected with the disease, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) said. Under a new scheme disease resistant ash trees are to be created, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) flagged as she reminded councillors she tabled a motion on the subject before the Shannon Municipal District earlier this year. Ash dieback has been “a huge problem” under previous Ministers, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) highlighted. He believed the matter was fall ball “between stools.

The problem needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Burn it or bury it, whatever they’ve to do get more forestry back”. Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) maintained it was time for Minister Hackett to get moving to put a solution in place. Several community groups that became involved in neighbourwood schemes during 2007 and 2008 have been impacted, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) commented. Cllr Liam Grant (GP) told the meeting he was happy to raise the issue with Senator Hackett to see if she can address the problem for farmers, “it is disappointing that this issue has developed”.

24 NEWS

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

IMOGEN SWITCHES ON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

MOGEN BRIGDALE became the youngest person in Newmarket-on-Fergus to switch on the village’s Christmas lights, writes Páraic McMahon. Eight month old Imogen alongside her parents Jane and Alan watched by the community of Newmarket-on-Fergus turned on the Christmas tree lights in The Green on Saturday. Boy soprano Seamus Maguire performed prior to the lights being flicked on with music provided by harpists from the Irish Traditional Music Institute based in Newmarket-on-Fergus. A tractor run held to thank Ronald McDonald House for their care of Imogen saw €15,198.22 raised in October. Imogen spent 70 nights in Crumlin following a post-natal diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Funds donated will “help families to face the weight of their children’s illness together,” Jane explained. Prizes for a raffle held as part of the tractor run included The Crabtree Tavern, The Hunters Lodge, Dunnes Stores and Shannon Town Centre, Clare Oil, Crowe’s Gala Ministers Cross, Dairygold Coop Bunratty, The Shannon Springs Hotel, King's Agri Parts, Dan Mc Inerney and Sons and Buckley Agri.

ALL SMILES: Clockwise from above: Imogen and Alan Brigdale; Imogen surrounded by

the O’Leary, Brigdale and Sheedy families; Singer Seamus Maguire with Joanne Costelloe and Susie Cusack; Isla Vaughan Mitchell and Deirdre O’Brien Vaughan; Marie Costelloe congratulates Imogen Photos by Joe Buckley

Beannachtaí na Nollag agus Athbhliain faoi mhaise do chuile duine

Billy Kelleher

MEP

Keeping Ireland at the Heart of Europe +353 87 336 6421 constituency@billykelleher.ie www.billykelleher.ie @billykelleherEU

NEWS 25

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

The right to a fulfilled life

FTER almost two years of sitting on the Disability Matters Committee – I’m still unaccustomed to the depravity experienced by Disabled People, who are trying to live a fulfilled life, on an equal basis to others, when trying to access services in this country. After being elected, when I found out I would be sitting on the DMC, I was genuinely optimistic – finally, I thought, an opportunity to inform government policy on Disabled People's human rights. I wanted to understand why services to support independent living are so rare, so evasive, so hard to access especially in rural regions like West Clare where I live with my family. My son is 9. He was diagnosed with autism in 2017. So, over the course of his 4 years of navigating diagnosis – half, or 2 of these years have been during lockdown with zero supports. Now, countless DMC meetings later, I am acutely aware that my son is not alone. Week in, week out I have witnessed testimonies from resilient Disabled People who are at their wits end and burnt out from advocating for what is their human right. People battling to get any kind of supports or interventions, life as one long exercise in

advocacy. Why should people have to make securing supports to live a productive live a lifelong career in itself? This is true across society in fact, it seems like accessing even the basics such as housing and health is a battle for most these days. But for Disabled People, they are continually expected to prove they have a right to their inherent rights. I feel embarrassed as an Oireachtas member to witness this. People may have impairments but, let’s be clear are they are ‘disabled’ by the State's denial of necessary supports needed to live a full, meaningful and equal life. If we understand parents need childcare, workers need parental leave, then in the same vein Disabled people need PAS, ISL, speak and language services etc, at the level of need of the individual and on a timely basis. People who may need access to Personal Assistance Services (PAS) which provides them with an assistant to do whatever they need to do – instead, are given Home Help. This mean the state is institutionalising people in their home, depriving people of their liberty. This is in breach of their human rights. Everyone has the right to live in the community, yet disabled people are relegated to nursing homes. Out of sight, out of mind

OPINION

Sinn Féin TD

Violet-Anne Wynne indeed. Again, depriving people of their liberty, in breach of their human rights. What will it take for Government to take responsibility for their human rights breaches? People who urgently need specialist therapies for early habitation interventions; are instead offered a few hours in a day-service under a ‘one-size-fits-all’ response that is not person-centred and is most definitely not designed to empower the individual. The Disability Act 2005 legislated for mainstreaming. 16 years on we still have segregating practises, contributing to political and societal ableism. After two years, it’s frustrating to acknowledge, I have more questions than answers than I did before. Questions, that I pose and submit to Minister Rabbitte and Minister O’Gorman on a regular basis. I am yet to receive a satisfactory response. When is the moment of reckoning going to come when we recognise that the ‘medical model’ approach, funding coming through the HSE (not known for its efficiency on a good day), is doing more damage than good to the rights of Disabled People and society at large? The Disabled People’s movement are demanding rights not charity. The token-

istic and dare I say charitable target for transferring young people out of nursing homes in 2022 is quite frankly upsetting, unambitious and degrading to the 1,300 people waiting to reclaim their lives. There needs to be an immediate commitment to close the back door to nursing homes for younger people. Next year we will celebrate 100 years of Independence for the Republic of Ireland, but we are miles from achieving independent living for Disabled People. The continuation of institutions to accommodate Disabled People as well as other marginalised communities such as asylum seekers is a dark reminder of our legacy as a country – we’re used to, and desensitised to hiding people away. When will enough be enough? I hope, deeply, that the moment of reckoning is close where we can take an honest look at the systemic violence holding Disabled People hostage; the political and societal ableism limiting them; the institutionalisation of our past haunting us in the present and we this reckoning is harnessed in a genuine political will. We can and must prevent the continued abuse of the human rights of Disabled People.

COVID-19 Vaccines

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose if it’s been 5 months since your last COVID-19 vaccine and you are: • aged 50+ • a healthcare worker • aged 16+ with a high risk condition

50+

#ForUsAll

COVID-19 cases in the community are high. It is very important to get your COVID-19 vaccine booster when it is due. Without a booster, you are more at risk of serious illness if you get COVID-19.

When should I get my booster? You need to wait at least 5 months after your last vaccine dose. If you had the Janssen vaccine, you need to wait at least 3 months but you may need to wait longer.

How will I get my booster dose? If you’re in one of these groups: • Go to a walk-in vaccination clinic. Visit hse.ie/covid19vaccine for clinic times and locations. • You’ll get an appointment by text message from the HSE. If it doesn’t suit you can reschedule or go to a walk-in clinic. • Contact a participating pharmacy or GP. Visit hse.ie/covid19vaccine for a list of pharmacies in your area.

For more information visit hse.ie or freephone 1800 700 700

Walk-in clinics from December 20th HSE Vaccination Centres will be running extra walk-in clinics during the week of December 20th. Get your vaccine wrapped up before Christmas, and check hse.ie or HSE social media for clinic times and updates.

26 COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Community QUIN

CONTACT

NEWSDESK 065 671 9021 news@clareecho.ie

CRATLOE

QUIN

GOAL MILE

CHRISTMAS MARKET

CHRISTMAS Day sees the return of the GOAL mile in person event to Clonlara! The GOAL Global event sees tens of thousands of participants walk, jog or run a Mile. Come along and take part in your local event, at the walk-way in Clonlara GAA Club anytime from 9 to 10 am on Christmas Day. This year you can register and/or donate online, picking the Clonlara Mile, Co. Clare as your chose event: at https://www.goalglobal.org/ goal-mile/. Registration is optional - everyone is welcome to show up on the day. For more information contact Eileen Gleeson 0874131750.

MALACHYS Bar Christmas Farmers Market will take place under lights on Tuesday 21st from 7pm-10pm in the bar carpark in Quin. With over 20 artisan bakers, cheesemongers, fishmongers, butchers and creative crafters florists and artists it’s one not to be missed. There will be live music & entertainment on the night. Malachy’s Bar will be selling delicious hot drinks & hot food outside. Malachys bar are requesting all patrons to be covid compliant in order to keep everyone safe and well. Remember the multinational chains will be fine our local economies need your support! #shoplocal #supportlocal

KILRUSH

lBIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS: Quin Badminton Club members Mairead, Jimmy, Jenny, James, Mike and Donna presented Hugh with a milestone birthday cake recently. Quin badminton club runs every Thursday evening at 08.30pm from September to March in Quin Community hall in the village. New members are always welcome, so why not call some evening to have a go? It’s a bit of fun. The club would like to mention club person of year for 10 or more years running, James (pictured fourth from left). James has been a stalwart for the badminton club over the years.

ENNIS CLARE 250 CENTRE CANDLES

THE festive season is a time for joy and celebration in the company of those closest to us. It is also a time when we keep in our thoughts, those who may be ill or who are no longer with us. For the past 11 years during the Christmas period, the entrance to the Clare 250 Cancer Centre in Ballygriffey, on the outskirts of Ennis, has been lit up by 150 night lights, each one a kind prayer for a loved one. This year we invite you to include someone you wish to have remembered for Twelve Days of Christmas. Weather permitting, the

candles will be lit from 6pm to 9pm from the 25th of December to the 5th of January. The name and the area where those who are to be remembered are from will be displayed on the plinth in front of the statue of Our Lady each night. One candle will cost €5 (with one name per candle) & you may purchase as many as you want. Simply go to the Clare 250 Cancer Centre page on www.idonate.ie and include the name and area of the person you wish to be remembered. For further details call 0656841600 or go to www.clare250cancercentre.ie.

LAHINCH A VIDEO OF HOPE

ONE Summer afternoon on the coast of Lahinch, a bird flew into a classroom and hurt his wing. A little boy, Cian Vaughan, cupped it in his hands until the bird got strong and was able to fly away. 6 year old Adam Wall looked on at his classmate rescuing the bird and when he got home that evening, he wrote a poem called HOPE. Adam read his poem to Cian and then to his whole class. When his teachers Miss Dilleen, SNA Mary Lou Moylan and principal Patricia Vaughan heard the poem, they decided to devote a whole school project to the theme of HOPE. The whole school got involved in making an art project around the poem. They filmed the results, but weren’t quite ready for the incredible reaction they got from their community. They had captured the hearts of parents and friends who all recognised the power of this message of hope this Christmas, and at this time. Patricia Vaughan, the principal of Furglan National School, Lahinch along with deputy principal Monica Dilleen have been credited by parents as really listening and respond-

ing to the children’s skills and talents and have always nurtured every child’s individual strengths. Miss Vaughan said: “Adam’s poem has inspired me so much. It oozes positivity and expectation. His creativity and ambition have given me greater belief in myself. He has inspired me to be a better leader. I am so proud of him.” The film was made by Alex Gill from Cracking Light Productions in Ennistymon. It features the little boy, Adam Wall, reading his poem called HOPE and as well as his classmates hope for the future.

lGIFTMAS: Collette Casey and Morwenna Kersual of the West Clare Family Resource Centre with a selection of the Christmas Gift Bags being delivered to 160 Over 55s CHRISTMAS GIFT BAGS

THE West Clare Family Resource Centre have been busy delivering Christmas gift bags to over 160 older people in West Clare this week. The Project aims to spread some festive cheer all around West Clare, whilst also maintaining a strong link with their participants who have been without face-to-

face activities and events for the past two years. The Project received donations from several local businesses to help cover the delivery costs and partnered with Queally’s Supervalu in Kilrush, who did a brilliant job of filling the bags with seasonal treats. For any enquiries about the Over 55s Project contact 065 905 2173.

KILMIHIL SCAN THE QR CODE WITH YOUR PHONE TO WATCH THE VIDEO:

LIGHT UP YOUR WAGON DRIVE BY

TAKING place Sunday 19th December starting at 4.30pm. All proceeds will be put towards a much-needed Defibrillator for our GAA Club Grounds and a donation to Regina House Palliative Care. Pre-Registrations at Kilmihil Post Office or entry on day from 3.30 pm at GAA Car Park. If you wish to donate, visit - https://www.go-

fundme.com/f/light-up-your-wagon-2021 Guaranteed to light up the roads for an hour or so for the older and younger folk, please support. This was a great success last year and created a lovely atmosphere in our parish and helped raise over €3,000 We would ask everybody to adhere to Covid Safety Guidelines.

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

NEWS

28 COLUMNIST

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

HONEY GLAZED CHRISTMAS HAM Kearney Cooks

BIG favourite in my house at Christmas time is a big old ham. Myself and my brothers always loved stealing a few slices of the preboiled ham on Christmas Eve to have with some fresh bread. In fact we loved it so much that one year we ate all the ham and ever since then my mother now buys two hams, one for us to tuck into on the 24th and one for the actual Christmas dinner. So I will share my favourite way to cook a ham with ye; boiled and glazed. The beauty of a ham is you can boil it the night before, so on Christmas day all you have to do is glaze it and bang it in the oven for a half hour. YOU WILL NEED • 1 ham, I ﬁnd a 2kg one does my family of four • 1 onion • 1 bay leaf • 50g honey • 50g mustard Step One Cut your onion in two and put it on the bottom of the pot. Sit your ham on top and fill with water. Add in your bayleaf and bring to the boil and allow to simmer. You will need to boil this for 20 minutess for every 450g. So a two kilo ham should take about an hour and a half. When it has boiled take out and allow to cool.

The ﬁnal polls of 2021

HE last set of opinion polls for 2021 were announced last weekend and made for interesting reading. The usual caveat that a poll is but a snapshot in time is ever present, but there is still much we can gleam from that snapshot. Remember the calls of Gilmore for Taoiseach as Labour hit 35% in polls ahead of the 2011 ballot, or Fianna Fáil’s delight at reaching 32% in the first poll after the 2020 election was officially called. Things can change very quickly as voters weigh up options closer to polling day. Nevertheless, Sinn Féin consistently polling in the low 30s is a welcome boost to Mary Lou McDonald’s team as they head into the Christmas recess. The headline figures from the B&A poll last weekend read, SF 34%, FF at 23%, FG on 20%, Greens and Labour on 5% each, Others on 3% and Independents on 9%. This gives an overall

landscape consisting of Government parties on 48%, Opposition parties on 42% with Independents making up the rest (with a rounding error responsible for the errant 1% in that poll). Over the past 30 years in Clare, SF’s poll rating in the county usually tracks at roughly 57% of their national figure. Therefore, a national poll rating above 30% should all but guarantee the party a seat in Clare next time around. With two candidates in the field, with a good geographic spread, they might even hope to still be in the fray for two seats, but this is still unlikely without a massive vote transfer rate from all other parties. The more likely scenario is that one SF candidate being eliminated will elect the other, once their vote is redistributed. The battle there will be between the two candidates to stay ahead of their running mate to take the SF seat on offer. FF polling at 23% is 1% higher than their 2020 general election

Step Two Peel away the skin and score the exposed fat with a knife. A diamond pattern is the best for visual effect. Combine the honey and mustard in a bowl and then brush it all over your ham. Now slam that ham into the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Step Three When the ham comes out it should be golden and sticky. Leave it to stand for ten minutes and then carve away. Perfect under a turkey or even between two slices of Cootes batch loaf. The trick with a ham is to not overcomplicate things. Keep the glaze simple. You can use sugar instead of honey if you like , or if you want to do something completely different you

could buy a jar of Jamaican jerk sauce and use that to glaze the ham (trust me, it’s amazing). I would also recommend investing in a meat thermometer as sometimes when cooking large joints of meat it can be hard to tell if they are cooked. Once the meat is over 72 degrees celsius you’re golden. As usual if you have any questions about this recipe or others please feel free to message me on Instagram. Also don’t forget to keep an eye on The Clare Echo Facebook page or my Instagram (stevekearney37) for the instructional video that goes with this recipe.

Enjoy

Steve K

Eoin Neylon

An inside look at Clare’s political spectrum

result. Given the party took 34% of the vote in Clare off a 22% national poll, a seat for FF looks guaranteed for the party in Clare on current figures too. With better vote management they too would hope to be in the hunt for a second seat once again, but a lot will come down to local factors if their ambition is to be achieved. Their coalition partners in FG will be disappointed that they appear to have squandered their good poll ratings early in this Government and now are well off the pace set by SF, having been caught by FF. A national figure of 20% is only 1% lower than they scored in 2020 and as such, should see the party return one seat in Clare again, assuming they have good local vote management once more. Otherwise, they could be in danger of ceding a seat and being without representation in Clare for the first time since the death of William Murphy and the loss of the

subsequent by-election in 1968. The Greens put in a good challenge in Clare in 2020 but Róisín Garvey’s hopes of moving from the Senate to the Dáil won’t materialise with her party sitting at 5% nationally, 2 points lower than their polling at the last General Election. As for the rest of the parties, there is little hope of them putting in any challenge worth talking about if the current trend continues. Labour continues to disappoint, and this is reflected in their stagnant poll results. As such, I don’t expect to see them lighting up the Clare electorate soon, save for the selection of a particularly energising big-name candidate. Even then, it’s a long shot! This leaves the 9% of the electorate that currently say they favour independent candidates. This is over 3% down on the 2020 national polling result for Independents, which may prove some worry for local TD Michael McNamara.

However, his stock has risen through a heightened media profile which should offset any national swing away from non-party candidates. His flirtations with the antivaxx voting block were noted with concern by many, but thankfully he has stayed on the right side of the line, instead probing the exact nature of the Government’s role in current decision making, as opposed to being just a rubber stamp to the whims of a singularly focused committee. If I were a gambling man, I’d back the Scarriff native to retain his seat regardless of the national mood towards Independents. At the end of the day, the Government will have to be happy with the latest set of polls, all of which put Government parties on a higher share of the vote than the combined strength of opposition parties. This may well leave some Independents in the position of king makers, should current trends follow all the way to the next polling day.

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

NEWS

30 16|12|21

Rebekah’s LAST MINUTE best buys GIFT GUIDE Style, Beauty and Lifestlye Rebekah Crerand

rebekah@clareecho.ie

HERE is no better place than Ennis on Christmas Eve morning, between the atmosphere of families out walking, the shop’s looking forward to finally closing their doors after a hectic season, coffee shops filled with friends from abroad meeting up and the overall air that its finally Christmas. At this point we are all realising that we have forgotten something, so I have created the perfect last minute gift guide this Christmas.

First store I popped into was La Jolie Femme. June has some beautiful gifts in store including some excellent quality pyjamas and would it be Christmas without a new set of pyjamas? There is a wide range of DKNY sets in store including this luxurious dressing gown, the quality of this is so soft and cosy!

31 16|12|21

3 I also ventured into Seoidin, one of my favourite shops for a Christmas gift, the atmosphere around Christmas in Seoidin is wonderful. Seoidin have beautiful pieces at the moment but Ive fallen in love with their “Pearl collection” it is so simple and elegant, handmade and the perfect Christmas present. The price point is particularly good for the quality of this range.

Another store I popped into was Haven Pharmacy, to their fabulous Clarins counter. Clarins is another perfect Christmas gift. It can be tricky though to buy someone skincare for Christmas but their hand cream is ideal. The Clarins Hand and Nail cream is an emollient-rich treatment, with soothing Sesame Oil. The treatment forms an invisible protective “glove” that shields hands from the elements, minimising signs of ageing. Softens and comforts dry, chapped, irritated skin. Helps strengthen nails and condition cuticles for naturally youthful-looking hands.

32 16|12|21

Mum-of-four Julie celebrates Retail Excellence’s Optician of the Year Award STUART HOLLY

editor@clareecho.ie

ILD Atlantic Opticians in Kilrush are celebrating 2021 in style after being awarded Optician of the Year at the Retail Excellence Awards at a national gala in Dublin. Proprietor Julie Moore Neylon marks five years in business with the Excellence award, which she collected on November 15 with her fourmonth old baby Joss in hand. The Kilrush-based optometrist was joined at the Dublin ceremony by her husband Padraig Neylon and member of staff Jamie Mulqueen. Wild Atlantic Opticians also put Kilrush on the map by being shortlisted to the Top 30 in the overall National Retailer of the Year category and Julie admits she felt “honoured” to be recognised by a prestigious national

event, which is judged by an independent panel of judges as well as mystery shoppers. Julie told The Clare Echo, “It was fantastic recognition especially for all our staff who are the backbone of the business. I’m on maternity leave at the moment so really this is their award. They’ve driven the business on in my absence, always striving to provide top class eye care and eye wear to all our patients, and aiming to always go that extra mile in order to deliver exceptional customer service to our customers. It was Jamie Mulqueen – a third year student studying Business & Irish in NUIG – who entered us into the award and he was the driving force behind it. We wouldn’t have won the award without all of his hard work and effort in particular.” Julie added that without the support of family, friends and neighbours, Wild Atlantic Opticians “wouldn’t be where we are today”. Julie acknowledged that while being a mum to her four young children is

her current priority, the award is recognition that successful business results can be achieved by busy mothers. The Galway native said she is lucky to share a joint vision with her staff and stressed the importance of “believing in your staff and giving them reign to drive things on”. “I have four children under six but it’s nice to show people that just because you have children, it doesn’t mean your business has to suffer. There are ways in which you can be off on maternity and still play an active role in driving on your business.” Julie extended the business in 2020 to include a gift shop offering upstairs in the Frances Street premises, with an online offering available at their webstore https://wildatlanticliving.com/. Call Wild Atlantic Opticians on (065) 905 1832 l Pictured at the awards ceremony are Jamie Mulqueen, Julie Moore Neylon and husband Padraig Neylon

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Live performances in Clare this weekend

N array of indoor and outdoor events take place this weekend throughout County Clare as part of Clare Arts Office’s Live Local Performance Scheme. This week, Clare Arts Office proudly supports concerts in East Clare in St Caimin’s Church, Mountshannon, and St Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe. West Clare is well served with Danny O’Mahony in concert in Kilrush and North Clare has Christmas songs in Lisdoonvarna and livestreamed concerts from Tubber. The Be Yourself Concert, promoting positive mental health, takes place in the Hope Café in Shannon followed by the Winter Solstice Concert at Hotel Doolin. As well as plenty of concerts there will be outdoor entertainment over the weekend with music by Áine O’Brien and Friends in Ennis as well as a spectacular fireshow by ROGU at the Height in Ennis on Sunday evening. Fireshows will also take place in Killaloe and Shannon on Saturday and Fidget Feet will perform an aerial dance spectacle at Scariff Harbour on Sunday evening. Details of all events are available from www.clarearts.ie The Live Local Performance Scheme is an initiative of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media aimed at providing employment to musicians and performers, while providing entertainment for communities throughout the county.

Christmas lights in Tuamgraney

l Pictures captured in Tuamgraney by Luke Fleming

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More than a club O Half a Century of Soccer in Tulla NE of the longest standing clubs in the Clare & District Soccer League will be in celebration mode on Saturday, 18 December, when a new publication chronicling the first 50 years of Tulla United’s existence will be launched. The Tulla United story, entitled ‘MoreThan A Club – Half a Century of Soccer in Tulla’ has been penned by local journalist, historian and author Joe Ó Muircheartaigh and brings together the proud history of the game in the parish and wider East Clare since 1970. “The club was formed in December 1970, so its first season in the Clare League was the 1970-71 campaign, which makes it fitting that half a century later the Golden Jubilee is being marked with this special publication,” says Ó Muircheartaigh. “It’s a book that charts the emergence of the support for soccer in East Clare through to the formation of the club and the huge commitment to promoting the game that has been there amongst everyone associated with Tulla United since the earliest days,” he adds. Soccer was played in Tulla as far back as a century ago when the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry were billeted in Tulla Workhouse during the War of Independence, however, it was 50 years later before the game was finally fostered on an organized footing.“It was the 1966 World Cup that changed everything for us,” says founder member of Tulla United, Pat Corry. “That was when football came into peoples’ homes through television and after that there was a huge interest and appetite among all the young people in Tulla to play the game.”From playing on the streets, in farmers’ fields and even near the Workhouse Field inhabited by the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the game put down permanent roots when a group of 18 enthusiasts gathered in the

l Tulla United’s 2021 Kennedy Cup players: Darragh Baker, Conor McFadden, Callum Casey, Glen McNamara and Adam Kilker pictured with their coach Barry Murphy

Macra na Feirme Hall in Tulla on 7 December, 1970 and established Tulla United.A week later the newest edition to the ranks of the Clare League had a first day out against Lifford in Ennis’ fabled Fairgreen venue, famously beating the Ennis bluebloods when the hero of the day was 12-year Kevin Barry who bagged two goals in a 3-2 win. Since 1970 Tulla United has had an unbroken link of service to the Clare League, with only founder members like Lifford and Hermitage, as well as Newmarket Celtic and Bridge United boasting a longer and unbroken association to the game in the county.For what is a lavishly illustrated book, the author has trawled through the archives of Clare soccer history as well as interviewing over 100 current or former members of the club in piecing a story of longevity and commitment to the soccer cause. The 270-page publication will retail at €30 for hardback and €25 for softback copies.“I came at this project from the prospective of not knowing much about

Tulla United,” admits Ó Muircheartaigh, “but it was a great starting point, because from there I was able to start from the ground up to explore this great commitment — which has remained unbroken since 1970 — to the game in a rural part of the county more associated other sports, particularly hurling, but also athletics and handball. “And it’s only along that journey that I came to realise that a club’s success is not measured in terms of matches or trophies won, but in its place and role in the community. In those terms Tulla United has a huge history and has had a huge impact over 50 years,” he adds. ‘More Than A Club – Half a Century of Soccer in Tulla’ by Joe Ó Muircheartaigh will be launched in Power House, Tulla on Saturday, 18 December at 7pm. * For more information from contact Denis Corry – email: deniscorry1@ gmail.com or 087-9241830

The Elves arrive in Scariff for the Fidget Feet Arial Dance Theatre

ave you ever seen a Christmas elf fly across the stars, well now is your chance. Fidget Feet is famous for its large-scale spectacle performance, “Elves arrive in Scariff” show will be full of Fidget Feet’s spectacular aerial charm, flying from a crane! This is a free event for all. We hope you can come and share in the aerial fun just before Christmas. Since 1998, Fidget Feet have created, established and nurtured the aerial dance sector in Ireland and created international connections and collaborations. Over 30 shows have been created and toured in this time, ranging from indoor, outdoor, crane and vertical dance performances around iconic Irish landmarks, shows for young audiences, community development regionally, professional development through establishing Ireland’s first aerial dance festival and training centre. These performances and opportunities take place throughout the country to make the art form accessible to all. We have achieved this through hard work, successful partnerships with venues, educational institutes, festivals and funding bodies such as Creative Europe, and the Arts and Cultural Capital Scheme 2016.

When: Sunday 19th of December at 3.30pm Where: The Scariff Harbour, Dock Road, Co Clare

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

A Government of Ireland initiative

Think before you meet up.

R.S.V.P. Risk, Symptoms, Venue, People.

Stay safe and enjoy Christmas this year. Ask yourself the questions and assess your level of risk at gov.ie/riskaware #BeRiskAware

NEWS

36 RECRUITMENT

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

HOUSING OFFICER

Location: Co. Clare based from Ennis.

For further details and the job description please e-mail bannerhousingrecruitment@gmail.com Banner Housing Association is a not-for-profit organisation with a vision of an Ireland where people with an Intellectual Disability have a right to choose the type of home they wish to live in. Banner Housing Association achieves this through its mission of providing quality housing and services which enable its tenants to create homes living independently or with support in their communities. We are currently recruiting a Housing Officer on a permanent full-time basis.

Applicants must have: • A relevant third level qualification in housing or related area. • Experience in housing management and development. • Effective organisational and communication skills including decision making. • Full clean driving licence. Closing Date:

12 Noon, Thursday 23rd December 2021

Interview Dates: To be held January 2022

RE TAIL SALE S assistant required Suitable for a confident, capable person with sales experience This is a Full Time Position Knowledge of the hardware, builders providers & construction industries would be an advantage but not essential as training will be given

Please apply with CV to cullinanandsons@gmail.com Closing date for applications 5pm December 23rd 2021

Earn while you learn With the Accounting Technician Apprenticeship

Employers in your area are hiring: BDO Limerick Moroney & Co. Accountants & Business Advisors O’Connell Quarries

Why apply? Earn a starting salary of at least €21,060 Pay no fees with fully funded course tuition Gain a Level-6 Advanced Certificate in Accounting Open to school leavers and learners of all ages Work four days a week with your employer Study online one day a week Starting January 2022

Apply online today: accountingtechniciansireland.ie

Email: apprenticeship@accountingtechniciansireland.ie

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

NEWS

DRIVE SMARTER IN A NEW ŠKODA

Finance available from 0%* Al Hayes ŠKODA, Gort Road, Ennis, Co. Clare. Tel: 065 682 2400 • www.alhayesskoda.ie Fabia 1.0 MPI 60 BHP Active OTRP €17,420. Deposit €5,302.34. 36 monthly payments of €169 including fixed price service plan of €12.99 per month. Optional final Payment of €6,501.30. Total hire purchase price €17,420. APR 0%. Total cost of credit €0. No minimum deposit requirement. Finance is provided by way of Hire Purchase Agreement from Volkswagen Financial Services Ireland and subject to lending criteria. This offer does not apply to fleet sales. *0% finance available on Fabia & SCALA only. Offer available on all orders taken from 15th October to 31st December 2021 and registered before 31st January 2022. Terms & conditions apply. Price includes delivery and related charges. WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) combined fuel consumption for FABIA in l/100km range from 5.6 to 5.3. WLTP combined CO2 emissions in g/km range from 127 to 120.

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Bluebird Care Clare celebrates 10 Years in business!

LUEBIRD Care Clare celebrates 10 years delivering high quality safe care in the home and community for persons of all ages with varying needs. Kay Leahy, Managing Director of Bluebird Care Clare, opened the Clare Franchise in November 2011. Building her franchise from scratch, the organisation has grown from strength to strength. With a team of over 100 staff between healthcare assistants, nurses and office staff, Bluebird Care Clare supports over 170 clients in their homes and in the community throughout Clare. Kay is driven by a passion to provide a service of excellence to enable people to live positively healthier lives and be more independent. HSE approved, Bluebird Care Clare specialises in working with clients and their families who require care in their homes. They offer a service of personalised care visits from check-in visits to complex care support. The Bluebird Care Clare team is committed to delivering the highest quality home care at all times so that their clients can remain in their own homes. Alongside Kay, guiding, mentoring and supporting healthcare assistants out in the community the office team; CNM2 Eimear Sutton, Office Manager Theresa Sexton, Care Coordinator Ruth Leamy and Practice

Supervisor Magdalena Janczyk have helped to grow and develop the business to be a leading home care provider in Clare. Kay says ‘Delivering the very best homecare is our passion and we strive to achieve this every day. We have a wonderful team of hardworking and dedicated staff working on the frontline throughout Clare. We had a small celebration to mark our 10 year anniversary at our Bluebird Care Office in Summerhill to thank our wonderful staff, some of whom have been with us from the very beginning. I would like to say a special thank you to all our hardworking healthcare assistants, and congratulations to those who celebrated their long service awards with us on the day.’ Thank you to the local businesses who donated spot prizes for the Carers raffle. Thank you to all our staff and clients for their ongoing support throughout the years. It has been a challenging but extremely rewarding 10 years in business, particularly in the care industry and we are looking forward to the next 10 years. We would also like to wish all of our staff and clients and their families a very Happy Christmas from Bluebird Care Clare. l (L-R) Eimear Sutton CNM2 ,Ruth Leamy

Care Co-Ordinator, Kay Leahy Managing Director, Magdalena Janczyk Practice Supervisor, Theresa Sexton Office Manager

l Maggie Lynch Health Care Assistant and Kay Leahy Managing Director and (right) Kay Leahy Managing Director celebrates 10 years

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

40 CLICK FOR CLARE

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

J.J. Corry gets into the Christmas spirit STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

HISKEY and a carrot - it’s the curiously Irish combination of treats left out for Santa and Rudolph in many Clare homes every Christmas Eve. In keeping with the jolly theme, Cooraclare whiskey bonders J.J. Corry are now offering whiskey stocking fillers and whiskey Christmas tree decorations this festive season. The company was founded by Louise McGuane on the family farm in Cooraclare in 2015 when the West Clare woman resurrected the art of whiskey bonding in Ireland - the practice of sourcing new make spirit and mature Irish whiskey and maturing, blending and bottling unique whiskeys. At a time when nobody in the country was doing it and there were just five distilleries on the island, Louise blazed a trail while also following an old path worn by a J.J. Corry of Kilrush in the late 19th century. J.J. Corry would have sailed up the Shannon having sourced his

whiskey in Limerick and it was unloaded in Cappa. There, he would combine the liquid with casks, mature it on site and create uniquely flavoured house whiskeys for his clients in the area. Flash back to 2021, clients now sprawl across the globe thanks to modern technology and J.J. Corry is selling its produce online. Caroline Sheedy, Tourism & Experience Manager at J.J. Corry, tells The Clare Echo, “It’s going really well. We just started off to test the waters to see what people would like so for Christmas, there are great gift ideas. We have merchandise but the biggest sellers are our gift boxes. We have these fabulous Irish Túath glasses branded to J.J. Corry and they’re paired with J.J. Corry whiskey in these amazing gift boxes, and we have other stocking fillers like minis which are a big hit. We have Christmas tree baubles in a selection box which you can hang on your tree for Christmas, it’s a really great gift idea.” Previously of Dromoland Castle, Louise’s cousin Caroline joined the company officially in March 2020 to look after the tourism side of the business - just days before lockdown restrictions came into place, decimating tourism. Last year they

J.J. Corry Whiskey is blended on the McGuane family farm in Cooraclare and (inset) founder and CEO Louise McGuane

opened the farm to the domestic market offering tours on site, which includes tastings at a 17th century tasting barn. “It was so positive, it gave us insight on what we could do on site. Everyone who came were really positive about the experience. It’s really unique, we don’t just give a whiskey tour, we give a history tour as well.”

Despite the two years of disruption, six people are now employed by J.J. Corry and the company continues to grow, particularly on the international markets. America has fast become J.J. Corry’s most lucrative market and having signed a deal with an importer last year there, they have seen orders treble in the US. Louise has just returned

from across the pond where she was sourcing casks, among the most important jobs of a bonder. However strong ties exist with local Clare businesses and they have collaborated with local businesses including the Armada Hotel and Dromoland Castle to create specially commissioned bonders. This year, they’ve added to their whiskey line with the Banner Blend whiskey which is only available in Clare. “When we released that we said, let’s give that to the people of County Clare who supported us when we started out so we decked it out in the blue and saffron colours and we only make it available in County Clare businesses.” Businesses where J.J. Corry retails include Fawls, Ennis, Next Door off licence in Ennis, Kilrush and Kilkee, Vaughan’s in Cooraclare, the Fiddle & Bow off licence in Doolin, and a number of pubs county-wide. SCAN TO SHOP AT J.J. CORRY

Tours commence in March, 2022. Visit www. jjcorry.com/ to shop online.

CLICK FOR CLARE 41

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Tuamgraney’s Nuala ‘passionate’ about pub life in rural Ireland SCAN WITH PHONE CAMERA TO VISIT NUALA’S WEBSITE

STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

UALA O’Brien’s affection for her industry, her locality and rural Ireland are all on tap as she discusses her “bar and restaurant in a little East Clare village” with The Clare Echo. Intended as an article to promote local business, this interview fast becomes a thought-provoking discussion on the pub’s important role in Irish society and how the pandemic might change attitudes to socialising forever. Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant in Tuamgraney has been in Nuala’s hands since 1997 however the pub itself has been in existence since 1850, once upon a time under the McCormac family and it has only had three different licences throughout three centuries. In 1999, the food trade was established by Nuala and quickly grew to a point where today it accounts for about three quarters of the business’s revenue. Nuala points out, this is indicative of modern-day socialising. When she took over the premises there were three pubs in Tuamgraney - today Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant stands as the only remaining one. Speaking with The Clare Echo, Nuala is questioned about a paragraph on her website which states, ‘Rural Ireland has been hit very hard over the last 20 years and we work hard to continue to provide a venue for socialisation in our very special village of Tuamgraney. “I’m very passionate about that,” the Tuamgraney native says without missing a beat. “It’s a regular contact...From a social point of view, it’s having a central place in a village where people can go and exchange information and have the craic. And number two, it’s part of Irish culture and part of the product we sell to tourists - tourism is a major part of our economy. People come to Tuamgraney to see St Cronan’s, a 10th century church and see the doors that Brian Boru walked through and all this wonderful history we’ve got, but they expect to be able to walk up the road after and get a cup of coffee. And that’s worrying now, the next year will tell a lot,” says Nuala, who divulged that revenues are down 50 per cent due to the pandemic.

“If the EWSS was to go, I wouldn’t be able to keep my doors open. Little places like mine don’t seem very important singularly but as a whole, there’s many places like mine, if they were wiped out from rural Ireland, it would be disasterous. For our locals, and our tourism industry as a whole.” Nuala admits that business people like her are fearful that people’s attitudes to socialising might change permanently due to the pandemic. “When something only happens for a couple of months, it will bounce back to what it was but when something happens for a couple of years it has a permanency to it, that’s what I think anyway. “It could change people’s habits. People have been forced into socialising at home or having drinks at home and it’s the cheaper option, so that might become a bigger part of our habits in Ireland and take away from the reputation the irish have of good craic in the pub. That’s what I’d be afraid of. I hope and pray that all the small businesses around the countryside aren’t forced to close their doors.” However Nuala is a self-confessed optimist and says the support of locals has been overwhelming, with some customers going as far as purchasing vouchers when the doors were closed during lockdown in a bid to support their ‘local’. Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant has also developed a website with the support of Local Enterprise Office, Clare which she says “has been amazing”. Her takeaway business has increased dramatically in the last two years with people able to avail of the wide selection of hearty dishes from Creamy Garlic & Mushroom Tagliatelle to Lightly Battered Cod Fillets, and much more. “I was forced to [move online] to keep going but it took off really, really well. At the moment there’s more done over the phone than online… it’s just that it’s more of

a personal touch. Both ways are working fine, it just depends on the person.” Heading towards Christmas, Nuala is beaming that live music continues at her venue with local artists such as Faye Moloney, “a beautiful singer” entertaining customers. “I had music on Saturday night with a small crowd and there was a wonderful atmosphere. There’s going to be small crowds anyway in country pubs and we can adhere to restrictions and still have a nice social atmosphere that people appreciate and they get to go out, leave their homes and have a break. I think psychologically that’s important for people.” As with every year, the restaurant offering will be closed between December 24-27 to give the chefs a break but heading into 2022 when Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant turns 25, “it’s business as usual”.

She quips that the 25 years have flown and she still feels like she’s in her 20s, adding “It’s a lovely business to run, you have your regular customers and I find it very enjoyable.”

PICTURED: Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant and (inset) Nuala O’Brien

SCAN WITH PHONE CAMERA TO START SHOPPING IN CLARE

Call Nuala’s Bar & Restaurant on 061 921 249 or order online at https://nualas.ie

Beautiful homes all over the County

Property

41 WOODLANDS, KILRUSH ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE €235,000

KILQUANE, SHANAWAY ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

LOCATED in a cul-de-sac of this popular development, within walking distance of Ennis Town Centre and all amenities and easy access to Ennis by-pass which links to the M18 Limerick/Galway motorway. The property is a 4 bedroom semi-detached dwelling being linked on the ground floor only. The property is presented for sale in very good decorative order throughout offering an abundance of space and light with off street private parking on tarmac drive, lawn area and gated access to rear garden with block wall boundaries. The garden is currently complete with decorative stone for maintenance free benefits. The dwelling is of block build and was

LOCATED on the immediate outskirts of Ennis Town Centre, on the much sought after Shanaway Road and enjoying a mature private landscaped site this detached dwelling offers a fantastic home in a popular area. Complete with tarmac drive leading up to and around the dwelling the gardens are mature and landscaped with lawn areas, plants, trees and hedging throughout offering excellent privacy with natural stone wall front boundary. The property was built in 2000 with excellent spacious rooms throughout both the ground and first floor with the total floor area of approximately 2,655sq.ft. (246.8sq.m.). The accommodation boasts 2 large reception rooms, Kitchen/Dining, 5 bedrooms, utility, office and three bathrooms.

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

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

CAHERINA COTTAGE, BAREFIELD, CO. CLARE

€395,000

AMV €150,000

COTTAGE FOR SALE WITH OUT-BUILDINGS / APPROX 0.53 ACRE PLOT / UNLIMITED POTENTIAL AN IDEAL opportunity to extend or renovate, whilst the outbuildings are suitable for a myriad of uses, workshop, stables etc. This Cottage is approached by a private tree lined avenue with a drystone wall, whilst positioned on a stunning south facing site approx 0.53 acre with mature trees. Services: Water is roadside (Mains) Electricity • Unlimited Potential to Extend/Renovate • Panoramic countryside views • Stone Built Cottage Contact: LOCATION LOCATION Tel: (065 672 9999) PSL 003928

SUPERB LOCATION / UNLIMITED POTENTIAL TO EXTEND OR RENOVATE / C.1 Acre Plot Fantastic Value / 4 Bed 2 bath semi-detached property with private garden to rear (not overlooked) , a stroll to Ennis Town Centre. • Extensive Site Extending to Approx 0.1 Acres • Town Centre Location, Excellent Potential to Renovate or Extend • Private Rear Garden Not Overlooked • Solid Fuel Stove / Block Built Garage / Secure side Access to Rear

Contact: LOCATION LOCATION Tel: (065 672 9999) PSL 003928

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

QUERRIN WEST KILKEE CO. CLARE

ABBEY VIEW, CLON ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE AMV €154,950

€285,000

THIS impressive 3 bedroom, detached property is being offered for sale in turn key condition. It is situated on a 0.67 acre site and has the most amazing, uninterrupted views over the River Shannon. This property also has the benefit of a private, registered right of access which leads directly down to a pebble beach. Accommodation is spacious and comprises 110 sq.m. including a kitchen/dining area, living room, utility room, bathroom and 3 bedrooms. There is huge potential in the attic area also which measures 74 sq.m. Due to its size, location and views, this would make a super family or holiday home. This property must be viewed to appreciate the privacy, future potential and spectacular views on offer. Contact: Danielle O’Connor SHERRY FITZGERALD MCMAHON Tel: (065) 686 7866 PSL 001212

22 DUN NA MANACH QUIN CO. CLARE

€230,000

22 Dun na Manach is an immaculately presented three-bedroom semi-detached property overlooking the green. The property comes to market in excellent condition throughout. Ideally located within walking distance of Quin village and all local amenities. Situated in an established residential development consisting of 49 houses. Built in 2006, the property has been tastefully maintained by its current owners over the last few years to give it an attractive, modern feel. On entering the main entrance hallway, the quality tiled flooring leads to an equally stunning main reception room where a feature solid fuel fireplace, solid oak timber flooring and a large front aspect bay window provide Contact: Jason Pyne SHERRY FITZGERALD MCMAHON Tel: (065) 686 7866 PSL 001212

PROPERTY

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our customers and friends

Thinking of Selling in 2022?

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44 PROPERTY

Sale Agreed

4 Fíoruisce

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15 Cloonbeg, Shanballa

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

Sale Agreed

23 Iniscarraigh

SOLD

66 Dromard

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91 Abbeycourt

16 Phoenix Court

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18 Garville Court

Bealcragga, Connolly

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44 Bishops Court

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32 tSean Dún, Tulla Road

ALL THESE PROPERTIES SOLD

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EXCEEDED IN EXCESS OF 10% OF THE ASKING PRICE

19 Inchicronan, Crusheen

14 Radharc Na Mara, Lahinch

Bearnafunshin, Barefield

12 Clonlea, Shanballa

065 672 9999 Unit 2 Summerhill, Market Place, Ennis, Co. Clare, V95 WD2H

info@locationlocation.ie locationlocation.ie psl no 003928

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

PROPERTY

16-12-21

Clare Echo THE

pg 46

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

Ennis RFC trio make debuts in remarkable Munster victory PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

A FIRST was recorded on Sunday with three Clare men taking to the field at the one time for Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup. Conor Moloney, Tony Butler and Ethan Coughlan, all former Ennis RFC underage stars were introduced in the final ten minutes of Munster’s 35-14 bonus point win against Wasps in Pool B of the Heinken Champions Cup. Their contributions were part of a gritty win that was achieved against the odds and one in which captain Peter O’Mahony said ranked among the best of his career. He admitted that their experienced players were inspired by the approach of the younger guns like the Clare trio over the past fortnight, “That's an incredible feat for the guys who played for Munster for the first time, never mind their first European game." Munster arrived in the

English West Midlands minus 34 players with 12 new faces in their match-day 23, none of their senior coaching team were in attendance and yet managed to produce yet another memorable European win. In all, twelve debutants made their bow for the Province, five from the start and seven others during the course of the game. The nature of the win was made all the more impressive given the amount of their panel and set-up that remained in quarantine following their ill-fated trip to South Africa. Kildysart’s Moloney was introduced for Eoin O’Connor in the second row on seventy one minutes, the arrival of Butler from Barefield followed on seventy five minutes with the outhalf replacing Joey Carberry who was injured after a poor tackle by Robin Hislop. Coughlan, also of Barefield completed the trio of Clare men on the field when he took to the field as Conor Murray made way on seventy seven minutes at the

Coventry Building Society Arena. Ennis RFC in a proud post on social media noted that it was “great to see in their red” of the three prospects as Butler, Moloney and Coughlan posed for a picture outside the stadium. They are the first Ennis RFC players to represent the province in the professional era. They re-establish a link with Clare and Munster’s top team that was last experienced when the late Anthony Foley was head coach up until his untimely death in October 2016. Fellow Killaloe man Damien Varley lined out as a hooker with Munster and captained the side in the 2013-14 Heinken Cup but was forced to retire in February 2015. Ex Irish captain, Keith Wood, also from Killaloe was part of Munster’s front row during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Subsequent to Wood, Clonlara's Marcus Horan made 225 appearances for Munster from 1999 to 2013.

Pictured in Coventry on Sunday is Tony Butler, Conor Moloney and Ethan Coughlan

European Cross Country podiums for Ennis athletes by PÁRAIC McMAHON GOLD and silver medals from the European Cross Country Championships will return to Co Clare. Ireland claimed the team gold medal in the Men’s Under-23 event SPAR European Cross Country Championships as Cork’s Darragh McElhinney won the individual silver medal. The championships took place at Sport Ireland’s campus in Fingal. A magnificent race from the UCD runner saw him hold onto the silver medal while Keelan Kilrehil took sixth place and Michael Power had thirteenth spot with Ennis’ very own Donal Devane finishing in fortieth position followed by Jamie Battle (44th) and Thomas Devaney (67th). Their combined results saw Ireland win gold. Donal who runs with Ennis Track and is coached by Joe Chawke recorded personal bests in 1500m and 3000m in times of 3.57.62 and 8.23.69 respectively in races held at Morton Stadium, Dublin in June of this year. He memorably claimed a cracking men’s 6000m title in 2019 at the National Novice and Juvenile Uneven Age Cross Country Championships. Just a single point separated gold medal-

lists Great Britain and Northern Ireland from silver medallists Ireland in the men’s U20 6000m. Abdel Laadjel was the highest Irish finisher in sixth, with Ennis’ Dean Casey and

Nick Griggs in 13th and 16th respectively. Scott Fagan crossed in 21st, Sean Kay was 5oth and Cathal O’Reilly 77th. Speaking following the race, Dean ex-

plained, “The plan was to be in the front group but not to lead it, to sit there until the last lap and try go for gold”. Eighteen year old Dean currently has a world ranking of 642 in the Men’s 5000m. Also a member of Ennis Track, he is coached by Pat Hogan. Earlier this year, he recorded a sixth place finish in the men’s 5000m final at the U20 European Championships.

(above) Team Ireland’s U23s (from left) Jamie Battle, Darragh McElhinney, Michael Power, Keelan Kilrehill, Donal Devane and Thomas Devaney celebrate with their gold medals; and (far right of main photo) Dean Casey was part of the Irish U20 team

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Gaynor Plate success for Clare girls by SEAMUS HAYES

CLARE schoolgirls soccer is celebrating Gaynor cup under 15 plate success this week after they scored a 1-0 win over Limerick County in the final played at the University of Limerick. Clare 1 Limerick County 0 Venue: University of Limerick

The decisive goal was scored by Aine Bonfil five minutes from time and it resulted in the victory for the side coached by Shannon based Donal Magee who is a well known soccer coach. Earlier this week, the current Newmarket Celtic A coach expressed his satisfaction with this latest achievement. “It’s a great honour to manage the county side”, he told The Clare Echo before paying tribute to his assistants Mark O’Malley and Johnnie Ryan, both fellow members of the Newmarket Celtic A management team. He also thanked Deirdre Shannon and the members of the Clare schoolgirls soccer committee. “This was a huge achievement for the girls and I could not be more proud of them. It shows what can be achieved when people put their minds to something. At the end of the day it’s an All-Ireland medal and there aren’t too many of those around. The girls are right to be proud of their achievement,” Magee stated. In the group stage Clare played four games. They beat the Desmond League 1-0 and Longford 2-1 while they lost 1-2 to both North Tipperary and Galway which resulted in a third place finish in the group. In the quarter final they were drawn away to Waterford and after a 1-1 draw following extra time, Clare won in a penalty shoot out. In the semi-final they had a home game against Kilkenny, a tie played at Newmarket Celtic’s grounds and here Clare won 2-1 to set up the final meeting with Limerick County Clare played against the breeze in the first half which was evenly balanced. The Banner side created the greater number of chances in the second half but they had to wait until the closing stages for the all important goal. This win added to the victory Magee’s Shannon Town U16 girls recorded recently when they won the under 16 cup. “To win that was brilliant and now this, it’s a great feeling”, he told the Clare Echo

Clare: Ella Henchy(Shannon Town); Aoife Fitzpatrick (Moher Celtic), Holly O’Brien (Shannon Town), Enya Kelly (Shannon Town), Ria Meaney (Fern Celtic); Eabha O’Driscoll (Lifford), Ava Lynch (Tulla United) Niamh Davis (Fern Celtic); Hannah Saidi (Hermitage) Captain; Aine Bonfil (St. Pats), Kate Singleton (Corofin Harps). Subs: Grace Kelly (Tulla United) for A. Lynch; Sadbh Griffin (Fern Celtic) for N. Davis; Anna Steigerwald (Corofin Harps), Heather Murphy (St Pats), Judith Egan (Fern Celtic), Kate O’Callaghan (Corofin Harps), Lea Commane (Moher Celtic), Rhianne Ryan (Tulla United), Amy Lillis (Hermitage), Caoimhe Donovan (Tulla United).

OUTSTANDING U13 SHIELD FINAL ENDS IN DISAPPOINTMENT Sligo-Leitrim 1 Clare 0 Venue: University of Limerick

An outstanding under 13 shield final ended in disappointment for Clare who lost out to Sligo-Leitrim. The Clare side here was managed by Andy Horgan assisted by Aisling Kennelly, Ciara Duggan, Hannah Mai Neylon and Sean Cregan and the team captain was Kate Jones from Bunratty/Cratloe, her older brother Matt was captain of the victorious Kennedy Bowl side. Corofin’s Molly Cox missed the final due to injury.

Clare: Rhianna Murphy (Shannon Town), Aibhinn Cotter (Moneypoint), Ava Richter (Shannon Town) Emily Carmody (Connolly Celtic), Mave Clancy (Fern Celtic), Rachel O’Shea (Fern Celtic), Saoirse Kent (Connolly Celtic), Orla Cahill (Bridge Utd), Kate Jones (Bunratty/Cratloe), Marykate Cregan(Connolly Celtic), Shannon Cagney (Moher Celtic); Subs: Nessa Meaney (Fern Celtic), Emma Riordan (Shannon Town), Kate Lee (Shannon Town), Sarah Hickey (Fern Celtic), Leah Leahy (Fern Celtic), Taylor Meaney (Shannon Town), Caragh Fitgerald (Corofin Harps), Emily Singleton (Corofin Harps), Ciara Lohan (Connolly Celtic).

Scenes of delight as Clare lift the Kennedy Bowl

Photo by Joe Buckley

Clare win Kennedy Bowl for first time in 21 years by PÁRAIC McMAHON

Clare 3 Galway 0 Venue: University of Limerick

CLARE have been crowned winners of the Kennedy Bowl following a comprehensive win on Saturday morning. It is the third time in the forty year history of the Kennedy Cup that Clare have won a trophy in the competition and the first in twenty one years since the county has claimed the Kennedy Bowl. They were comfortable winners over neighbours Galway in UL on Saturday morning, kicking off an important weekend of underage soccer in the county with Clare’s U13 and U15 Gaynor Cup sides taking to the field on Sunday morning. Avenue Utd’s Etnik Aliu struck for two goals to put the Banner in control with the physical Tiernan Adelu making his mark on proceedings once again by registering Clare’s third and final goal.

With only one defeat in their entire Kennedy Cup campaign, the collection of silverware is well merited for a Clare side that only conceded two goals, those efforts coming in their defeat to Cork. Over the course of the Kennedy Cup, Davy Wall’s side scored twenty goals. Standout players throughout their season included goalkeeper Conor Wall, Bridge Utd’s Aidan Moloney, Oliver Hawes, Tiernan Adelu, Glen McNamara, Etnik Aliu and captain Matt Jones. Wall of Shannon Hibs was joined in his management team by Ruan based Fabio Messori, Avenue Utd’s Paul Roche and TJ O’Dwyer of Shannon Town Utd. Speaking to The Clare Echo, Davy reflected on a very positive campaign in which Clare dominated for large spells. He believed their semi-final win against a fancied North Dublin Schoolboys League was a big turning point and lift for the squad. “Our standout result was

against North Dublin, they were very confident they would beat us but like the final, it was a comfortable win for us”. “It will definitely lead to players playing in the League of Ireland. We want to put them in the window for League of Ireland clubs to see” the former Newtown FC and Newmarket Celtic striker stated. He expected four to five of the Clare squad to make the step up in the coming years.

Clare (4-3-2-1): Conor Wall (Shannon Hibs); Kyle Kirby (Bunratty Cratloe), Glen McNamara (Tulla Utd), Conor McFadden (Tulla Utd), Aidan Moloney (Bridge Utd); Matt Jones (Bunratty Cratloe), Adam Kilker (Tulla Utd), Etnik Aliu (Avenue Utd); Oliver Hawes (Burren Utd), Tiernan Adeul (Shannon Hibs), Jack Daly (Bridge Utd). Subs: Callum Casey (Tulla Utd) for Hawes, Shay Waller (Shannon Hibs) for Kirby, Kevin Hanley (Shannon Hibs) for Jones, Darragh Baker (Tulla Utd) for Daly, Kyle McInerney (Shannon Hibs) for Wall, Daniel Brody (Sporting Ennistymon) for Kilker, Eoin Devenney (Sporting Ennistymon), Ryan McCarthy (Ennis Town FC), Liam Heffernan (Mountshannon Celtic).

Away fixtures for Avenue Utd & Ennis Town in FAI Junior Cup by SEAMUS HAYES

CLARE’S remaining two clubs in the race for the prestigious FAI Junior Cup will be away from home for their round 5 fixtures.

Avenue United, finalists in this competition in 1990, must travel to play Leinster junior league side, Yellowstone Celtic in Dublin while Ennis Town will also be in Dublin to play Ballymun.

Competition title holders Fairview Rangers from Limerick will have home advantage against Clonmel Town. Pike Rovers from Limerick must travel to play Athy Town in Kildare while St. Michaels

from Tipperary will have home advantage against Aungier Celtic. The draw took place this Wednesday afternoon and the games will take place in January.

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Alternative Cusack Park entrance & respect for refs motions approved by PÁRAIC McMAHON SEVEN motions were passed by clubs at County Convention on Tuesday. Tulla GAA club asked that a schedule of all motions adopted over the last ten years of Convention be issued to all clubs. They also requested that Clare GAA in collaboration with the Referees Association introduce an initiative whereby referees would give a score between zero to ten indicative of the behaviour of each team, their players and management. “The team with the greatest score at the end of the competition will receive a non-monetary prize,” the motion which was submitted in a bid to encourage positive behaviour towards match officials read. Equal weighting to the Friary entrance to Cusack Park has been sought by Ruan GAA club. They stated that this would help in “the continuing struggle against COVID” and also respect “loyal GAA followers attending from west and north of our capital town”. Need for “an urgent report” from Croke Park “into the causes of career threatening cruciate and hip injuries in Gaelic players” formed the other proposal from Ruan. The findings from this report is hoped to bring about “the elimination or moderation of training or match day activities or indeed their intensity with a view to seriously reducing the amount of these injuries in

the years ahead”. Adoption of postal voting for County Convention has been pleaded for by O’Callaghans Mills. They argue that each club could avail of the opportunity to use their vote via this method. A full contingent of delegates attending the Convention this week at The Auburn Lodge Hotel. Allocating all coaching and development funding to individual counties on an equal basis based on registered GAA members in the previous year up to a maximum variance of five percent was the proposal issued by Wolfe Tones. “Any proposal to allocate coaching and development funding in excess of five percent variance must be brought to Annual Congress every two years for approval with a transparent plan and business case for such increased funding”. Amendments to the bye-laws of Clare GAA were proposed by Cratloe GAA club. This will recommend the appointment of a County safety facilities officer, a training committee and a child welfare officer. The title of Development Officer will be replaced by Planning and Training Officer if the motion is passed. The planning and training committee will assist clubs in the development of a club plan and details on financing this, it will also aid the implementation of a county plan and monitor demographic changes within the county.

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Election fervour sees Keating take Chair of Clare GAA EOIN BRENNAN WHAT started as election fever quicken ascended to fervour as Clare GAA made sweeping changes to the top table at their annual convention in The Auburn Lodge Hotel this evening. Four proposed officer contests elevated three new appointees to the top table including chairman, vice-chair and treasurer. Outgoing Vice-Chairman Kieran Keating stepped up to the helm of Clare GAA following a 115 to 74 vote victory over holder Jack Chaplin (Cratloe), citing the implementation of the recently adopted 5 year Strategic Plan, Saffron & Blue as his chief priority for 2022. The vacant Vice-Chairman position was garnered by outgoing PRO Michael O’Connor who managed to edge out Éire Óg’s Paddy Smyth by 94 to 82. The only officer to retain their seat on the executive following an election was Vice-Treasurer Tony Brohan (Éire Óg) who fended off challenger Niomh Madigan (Kilrush Shamrocks) by 114 to 65. However, there would be a major curveball in the proposed election race for treasurer after the incumbent Michael Gallagher pulled out of the race at the eleventh hour. Faced with a ‘Lynch mob’ of online abuse following his alleged refusal of the Clare Football Supporters Club from selling car raffle tickets

at Cusack Park ahead of the County Intermediate Football Final in early November, Gallagher came out with all guns blazing to defend himself at Tuesday’s convention. The Doonbeg clubman strongly rejected that claim, outlining that the decision was made by a group of five people, with their reasoning based on patrons ‘having to put their hands in their pockets or handbags four times before taking their seat at that particular game’. The admittance fee, programme sale and a authorised Banner Flag Day were explained as the other three occasions alongside a ticket for the Car draw. So despite reporting a hugely encouraging €225,931 surplus for 2021, a whopping €700,000 turnaround from the 2020 version, Gallagher did not seek re-election for a fifth year as treasurer but did graciously offer to assist and support Rebecca Sexton’s transition to the role as the sole remaining candidate and first female treasurer of Clare GAA. Online abuse of officers (“the county board needs to defend itself, the day is gone where we stand like dummies” quipped Irish Officer Flann O’Reilly) and vehemently refuted claims of alleged plotting to silencing certain club delegates at an officers meeting, were both significant discussion points as was the ongoing senior hurling relegation issue that is proposed to be dealt with as soon as next Tuesday at the first county board meeting of the new administration that will also include the ratification of remaining county managements.

BLUE RIBBON SUPPORT Rebbeca Sexton made history become Clare GAA’s first female Treasurer; (right) Newly elected Chairman of Clare GAA, Kieran Keating Photos by Natasha Barton

Meelick appeal to stop haemorrhaging of players by EOIN BRENNAN

Newmarket-on-Fergus GAA club wish to pay tribute to Alexandra Dental (U11 hurling, pictured), MFS (U9 hurling) and Mid-West Lime (U14 hurling) who came on board as sponsors during the year resulting in a new set of jerseys for each of the respective panels. They have voiced their appreciation for the ongoing investment of local businesses in the GAA club

THE most poignant motion was saved for last on Tuesday evening when Meelick GAA Club appealed to Clare GAA to implement the ‘parish rule’ and stop the illegal cross-border defections of players in their catchment area. The motion, ‘That C.L.G. Coiste Chontae An Chláir implement playing ineligibility as per GAA guidelines 2021’ was further reinforced by Meelick Secretary Paudie O’Brien’s plea for help for survival. “I’m asking, for starters, the Clare County Board to implement Parish Rule which is the

cornerstone of a GAA club and if this is passed here tonight, I’ll be directing the same motion to Munster Council. “I mean clubs are dying on their feet because rules aren’t being obeyed, it’s as simple as that.” Described by Clare GAA Secretary Pat Fitzgerald as the haemorrhaging of a lot of good players to another county, the motion was immediately seconded by former Munster GAA Chairman Robert Frost. “If something isn’t done about Meelick in the near future, they will go out of business. I think myself that what’s being done to Meelick with regards losing

players to another county is a pure and utter disgrace. Something has to be done for Meelick or else they will go out of business and I would also suggest Parteen as well.” Before the motion was unanimously passed, Paudie O’Brien outlined the looseness of the National GAA Registration system which certainly hasn’t aided Meelick’s cause. “It’s the biggest joke of all. I could register Daniel O’Donnell in Meelick GAA Club and noone would say anything about him being based in Donegal. “I’ve actually tried it and I deleted him last night.”

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Corofin/Ruan justify favourites tag ahead of U21 final by SEAMUS HAYES

COROFIN/Ruan sealed their place in the U21A hurling final while Crusheen/ Tubber will meet Bodyke O’Callaghans Mills in the B decider. Corofin/Ruan justified their favourites tag as they produced a stirring second half display. Corofin/Ruan 1-23 Scariff-Ogonnelloe 4-13 Venue: Dr Stuart Park, Ogonnelloe

Half time substitute Conor Leen made his mark when introduced for Corofin/Ruan but their key personnel also stood tall as they managed to overturn an eight point half-time deficit when they trailed 3-11 1-09. Out of action for much of the year due to injury, Leen was handed the role of sweeper when introduced and this released Gearoid Cahill to move forward in an effort to curb Patrick Crotty who had scored 1-5 in the opening half. The winners won the toss and opted to play against the wind in the opening half. Goals from Mark Rodgers (2) and Crotty helped the East Clare side to a 3-9 to 1-7 interval lead, Rodgers’ second effort was impres-

sive given he did so without his hurley. Corofin/Ruan’s goal came from Robin Mounsey after he took a pass from Diarmuid Cahill. The wind increased as the game progressed and the winners gradually reduced the deficit with scores from goalscorser Mounsey, Killian McGroary, Killian O’Connor, Kevin Keane, Diarmuid Cahill, Jack McDonagh and Shane Punch. With the deficit down to the minimum, Corofin/Ruan were rocked when Rodgers got through for his third and his team’s fourth goal but the visitors weren’t to be denied and they finished strongly to take the spoils and set up a final date with Newmarket-on-Fergus. Killian O’Connor, the Cahill brothers, Mounsey and Shane Punch impressed for the winners, their powerful second half showing saw the North Clare outfit outscore their East Clare counterparts 0-14 1-02. Patrick Crotty, particularly in the opening half and Mark Rodgers were to the fore for the home side who lost Patrick Ryan to injury at a crucial time in the game Corofin/Ruan: Cian O’Donoghue; Marc O’Loughlin, Ashley Brohan, Jason Power; Gearoid Hanrahan, Gearoid Cahill, Killian

opening quarter and on this occasion were fortunate not to have been further behind. The loss of Joey Droney for this tie was a blow but the team’s defence improved as the game progressed and the switch of Ian O’Brien from wing forward to wing back helped greatly. Senan Dunford was another to impress and he struck for the game’s only goal midway through the second half after good work by Oisin O’Donnell. Diarmuid Cahill was in fine form again for Corofin/Ruan Burren Eye Photography McGroary; Shane Punch, Dara McInerney; Kevin Keane, Robin Mounsey, Diarmuid Cahill; Jack McDonagh, Killian O’Connor, Patrtick OHalloran; Subs: Oisin Madigan for J. Power; Conor Leen for Madigan; Shane O’Brien for McDonagh. Scariff/Ogonnelloe; Willian Kavanagh; Seamus McCaul, Tadhg Kavanagh, Adam Sheedy; Sean Collins, Eoin O’Grady, Gearoid Sheedy; Conor Downes, Keelan Hartigan; Shane Kavanagh, Patrick Crotty, Martin Walsh; Paddy Ryan, Mark Rodgers, Eanna O’Brien Subs: Eoin Keehan for S. Collins; Eoin Hefffernan for A. Sheedy; Scott Cairns for P. Ryan(inj); Paul McGee for E. O’Brien; Referee: Niall Malone (Éire Óg)

CRUSHEEN/TUBBER DIG DEEP Crusheen/Tubber 1-16 Clooney/Quin 0-16 Venue: Tubber

Crusheen-Tubber and Bodyke-O’Callaghans Mills will contest the final of the Clare

under 21 B hurling championship after they overcame Clooney-Quin and Ballyea. Behind by seven points, 0-5 to 0-12, at the interval, Crusheen/Tubber were forced to dig deep in the second half of this tie played at Tubber. The wind picked up in the second half and the home side capitalised with some good scores. They got control in the middle third of the pitch and this led to their dominance after the break. For the third game in succession, Crusheen-Tubber played second fiddle in the

Crusheen/Tubber: Tommy Fahy; Ronan Kearney Pappy Taaffe, John O’Sullivan; Tadhg Deane, Eanna McMahon, Cathal Droney; Diarmuid Mullins, Liam Clancy; Ian O’Brien. Luke Kettalaar, Murrough McMahon; Senan Dunford, Oisin O’Donnell, Dylan Lyons. Sub: Seanie McNamara for D. Lyons. Clooney/Quin: Cormac O’Halloran; Evan Maxted, Callum Beirne, Martin Freyne; John Conneally, Eoghan O’Brien, Eoin Guilfoyle; Donagh O’Sullivan, Paul Hogan; Colm Cassidy, Oisin Egan, Darragh Keogh; Ulick O’Sullivan, Andrew Considine, Dylan Cunninghm. Subs: Shane Harrisson for Considine; Considine for D. Cunningham; Colin Liddy for U. O’Sullivan; Killian Enright for O. Egan; Adam Deegan for Freyne. Referee: Kevin Corry (Sixmilebridge)

DOYLE’S GOAL THE DIFFERENCE Bodyke/O’Callaghans Mills 1-14 Ballyea 0-10 Venue: Ballyea

Playing with the aid of the wind in the opening half, Bodyke/O’Callaghans Mills had opened a six point lead by the half way point and they maintained this throughout

a second half in which the home side were down to fourteen players following the dismissal of Michael Meaney on a second yellow card early in the new half. Ballyea succeeded in closing the gap to three points but being a man down proved too much. Helped by the game’s only goal which came from Seanie Doyle, the winners were 1-6 to 0-3 ahead at the halfway point. The goal came after Doyle took a free short before taking possession back and shooting to the net. Cormac Murphy, Fionn Slattery, Stephen Donlon, Seanie Wiley, Mikey McMahon and Fionn Hickey were prominent for the winners

Bodyke/O’Callaghans Mills: Jack Minogue; Cormac Treacy, Keith Donlon, Ronan Kelly; Mikey McMahon, Sean Wiley, Kevin Drost; Fionn Hickey, Cormac Murphy; Fionn Slattery, Seanie Doyle, Stephen Donlon; Tiernan Slattery, Colm Cleary, Tomas Minogue; Subs: Jamie O’Donnell for Drost (inj); Darragh Moroney for T. Minogue; Tommy Wiley fort O’Donnell; Stephen Marsh for F. Slattery Ballyea: Oisin Griffin, Brian Longe, Evan Flynn, Cormac O’Mahoney; Stephen Casey, Cian Meaney, Evan Wall; David Meaney, Liam Crowe; Fergal Guinnane, Diarmuid O’Neill, Michael Meaney; Fiachra Kirby, Mossy Gavin, Cian Kirby; Subs: Eoin Gavin for D. O’Neill; Niall Carigg for L. Crowe; Barry Nealon for C. Meaney; Danny Quinn for D. Meaney; Daniel Kelly for E. Gavin. Referee: Kieran Liddane (Sixmilebridge)

Breckans claim U21B with Éire Óg set to meet Estuary by SEAMUS HAYES

ÉIRE Óg will face off with a Shannon Estuary amalgamation in the final of the Clare U21A football championship while the U21B title has been claimed by St Breckans. Five unanswered points in the dying moments of Sunday’s U21B football final saw St Breckans snatch victory from Lissycasey. STORMING FINISH FOR BRECKANS

St. Breckans 0-13 Lissycasey 1-8 Venue: Dr Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay

Three points ahead as the game headed for ‘injury time’ Lissycasey looked set to be crowned Clare under 21 B football champions at Hennessy park in Miltown on Sunday. St. Breckans had other ideas, however, and a storming finish yielded five unanswered points for the Lisdoonvarna side which led to them capturing the title. This was a thrilling contest which produced some great football as both sets of players gave their all in search of victory. Lissycasey started well and had the opening points through Shane Culligan (free) and Conor Meaney but St. Breckans landed the next three points through Cian Burke (2) and a Jamie Stack free. The Martin Daly managed Lissycasey stormed back and a fine move ended with Conor Meaney shooting to the net as the mid point of the half approached. Michael Meaney added a point and a goal separated the sides at the first water break. The physically stronger Neil Hawes managed North Clare outfit enjoyed the better of the second quarter when they added points from Robert O’Connell (2) and Jamie Stack (2 frees) to lead by the minimum at half time when the score was 0-7 to 1-3. Defences dominated in the third quarter when each side managed just one point and the minimum separated the sides at the final water break which both sides would face into a man down. St. Breckans midfielder Robert O’Connell

was shown a straight red card nine minutes into the half and two minutes later Lissycasey’s Luke Griffin suffered a similar fate.

St Breckans U21 players celebrate at the final whistle Burren Eye Photography

St. Breckans: Oisin O’Loughlin; Eoin Hurley, Thomas O’Dwyer, Dan Garrihy; Shane Fitzpatrick, Patrick Doherty, Daniel Fogarty; Robert O’Connell (0-2), Seamus Hurley; Denis O’Callaghan, Eoin Guerin (0-1) Seamus McNamara; Cian Burke (0-2), Jamie Stack (0-6, 5f), Oisin McNamara; Subs: Eoin Petty for Fogarty; Joe Flanagan for S. Fitzpatrick; Killian Blood for E. Hurley; Eoin Fitzpatrick (0-1) for C. Bure (inj); Daniel O’Callaghan for Denis O’Callaghan; O.G (0-1) Lissycasey: Thomas Collins; Billy DeLapp, Ian Griffin, Colin O’Shea; Kevin Shivers, Michael Madigan, Michael Meaney (0-1); Ronan O’Callaghan, Luke Griffin; Harry Keane, Shane Griffin, Fionn Cotter; Shane Culligan (0-3, 2f) Conor Meaney (1-4), Jack Meere; Subs: Jack Cahill for Keane; Cian Meaney for De Lapp;

BRIGHT START CRUCIAL AS COMBINATION OUTFIT SEAL FINAL SPOT

Shannon Gaels/Kilmihil/Kildysart/Coolmeen 0-11 Ennistymon 0-8 Venue: Dr Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay

A three point win saw Shannon Gaels, Kilmihil, Kildysart and Coolmeen advance to the final of the U21A football championship for the first time. Better finishing proved crucial on the evening with the winners leading throughout. They made the better start and raced into a lead that the North Clare outfits failed to pull back. The combination, jointly managed by Paul Reidy (Kilmihil) and Kevin Kelly (Kildysart) led at the first water break on a scoreline of 0-5 to 0-1 and they went to the half time break with a 0-7 to 0-3 lead, all of their first half points having come from Kildysart duo, Emmett McMahon and Diarmuid O’Donnell. They held a three point advantage throughout the second half with the scoreline at the three quarter stage at 0-9 to 0-6. Ennistymon battled hard and while they won some good possession, they were unable to turn this into scores as a strong amalgamation held firm and kicked some impressive long range points on the night. Shannon Gaels/Kilmihil/Kildysart/Coolmeen: Conor Cusack (Kildysart); Dylan O’Halloran (Coolmeen), John Finnucane (Kilmihil), Stephen Sheehan (Kildysart); Gavin Downes (Kilmihil), Fergal Guinnane (Kildysart), Tadhg Kelly (Shannon Gaels); Emmet McMahon(Kildysart) (0-3), Jack Reidy (Shannon Gaels); Conor Hassett (Kildysart), Gearoid O’Grady (Kilmihil) (0-1), Darren Crehan (Shannon Gaels); J. J. Carrig (Kildysart), Diarmuid O’Donnell (Kildysart) (0-7), Adam Wallace (Coolmeen). Sub: Mark Normoyle (Kilmihil) for Wallace

Ennistymon: Conor Gallagher; Dara Rouine, Dara Conneally, Micheal Vaughan; Liam Cotter, Ciaran McMahon (0-1), David McNamara (0-1); Eoin Rouine, Brendy Rouine (0-4); John Murphy, Cillian Rouine, Darren McNamara; Dara McInerney, Diarmuid Fahy (0-2), Niall Canavan; Subs: Sean Rynne for Canavan; Josh Guyler for Darren McNamara; Niall Hogan for D. Rouine; Keelan Guyler for McInerney; Ryan Barry for E. Rouine

GOALS FROM TALTY BROTHERS STEER ÉIRE ÓG TO FINAL Éire Óg 2-12 St. Josephs Doora/Barefield 2-6 Venue: Gurteen

Éire Óg took a giant step towards a senior and under 21 A Clare football double when they accounted for St. Josephs, Doora/Barefield in the semi-final of the under 21 A championship at Gurteen last Wednesday evening. Weather conditions were difficult with players having to contend with a strong wind which made ball control difficult. Senior player Mark McInerney converted a number of frees as the winners opened an

0-8 to 0-3 interval lead. The wind didn’t prove as difficult for players in the second half as Éire Óg continued to hold the upperhand and goals from the Talty brothers, Stephen and Philip helped them into a commanding lead. To their credit St. Josephs battled to the end and got through for goals from Eoghan Thynne and Tom McDonald but time wasn’t on their side and the town side held on for a merited win on a day when Hugh Connolly, Oran Cahill, James Lyne and Jack Joyce impressed.

Éire Óg; Niall O’Donoghue: Hugh Connolly, Manus Doherty, Cuan Ó Glaisne; Jarlath Collins, Ronan Lanigan, Gavin D’Auria; Oran Cahill, Darren O’Brien; Jack Joyce, Mark McInerney, James Lyne; Stephen Talty, Philip Talty, Kevin Moloney; Subs: Andrew McElwee for Moloney; Frank Roche for O’Glaisne (inj); Micheál Foley for Lyne (inj); Jack Walsh for Joyce St. Josephs Doora/Barefield: Tom O’Brien; Sam Costello, Jack Scahill, Aodhan O’Shea; Fionn Kelleher, Alan Killeen, James Curran; Tom McDonald, Dara Nagle; Cian McDonagh, Nicky Hardiman, Conal Kelleher; Joseph Rafferty, Eoghan Thynne, Bruce Pigott. Subs: Eoin Talty for Curran, Kevin Nugent for Hardiman; Dara Whelan for Killeen;

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East Clare 2022 captains ‘drive-in’ to office by SEAMUS HAYES EAST CLARE GOLF CLUB: A wonderful day was had in East Clare golf club on Sunday last with over 70 members participating in the annual Captain’s Drive In. Captain Kieran Kennedy, Lady Captain Maureen Clune and club President T.J. McNamara teed off in front of the crowd and this was followed by a 9 hole scramble. The winners over the front 9 were Adrian Casey, Patsy Kett and Mary Collins (26 3/15). They were followed by Ger Hogan, Sean Aherne, Bernie Cox and Helen Conway (27 18/20) with third spot filled by Kieran Kennedy, Maureen Clune and T.J McNamara (28 8/15). In the competition played over the back 9 the winners were Jason Horan, Jackie McHugh and Ursula Hogan (26 13/15) followed by Josh Moloney, Pat McNamara, Loretto O’Donnell and Evelyn Skehan (27 17/20) with third spot filled by Ray McInerney, Brid Hayes and Catherine Minogue (29 6/15). DROMOLAND GOLF CLUB: The men’s wine competition at Dromoland last weekend was won by Frank Conway with 40 points from John Canny with 39, Patrick Vaughan with 38 and Eamonn Power with 38

while Thomas Cooney won the gross with 32 points. KILRUSH GOLF CLUB: Matthew Dillon (22) was the winner of the weekly winter turkey competition at Kilrush last week with 30 points. He had two to spare over Pat Shannon (12). WOODSTOCK GOLF CLUB: The autumn league final took place at Woodstock on Sunday when Paul and Declan Coote, Chaye Kelly and Fran Feighery emerged as winners, defeating Ryan Enright, Brendan Quinn, Pat O’Brien and Pat McMahon in a great final. The winners of the club fourball better ball competition were Paddy Meehan and Brian Kilker with 46 points from Bernardo Kelly and Ross Kenny who had a similar score. On this Saturday and Sunday there will be a modified fourball over 15 holes The format will see both players tee off, then pick the best drive and players play their own ball from there. At least five drives must count from each player and re-entry will be allowed. There will be a Christmas team of four scramble on December 26 and 27. This week’s seniors competition at Woodstock was won by John McGrath, Kieran Patton and Hugo Hughes with 52 points

LAHINCH GOLF CLUB: In compliance with Government guidelines requesting all members of the public to reduce their social contacts to stem the spread of Covid-19, the club Council at Lahinch has decided to operate timesheets over the holiday period. Timesheets for Sunday 26th December to

Monday 3rd January 2022 inclusive will open online next Monday, December 20, at 9am. Members are requested to limit the number of tee times booked on the Old Course to a maximum of four over the holiday period. Should tee times be available 24 hours in advance, members may book an additional round.

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Double success for Ballyea owner Gavin POPULAR Ballyea owner Noel Gavin was the man in form last weekend with a double strike at the Limerick Track on Saturday night. Both winners are handled by Ennistymon trainer Tom Flanagan who has his kennels in top form at the minute, first off the mark was Ballyea Sydney who had a trap to line win in the Covid 19 protocols A3 525 race, boxed in trap 4 Sydney had five and a half lengths win in a time of 29.04. The double was completed in The Slan Abhaile A1 525 race where Ballyea Scrutiny battled his way to the front on the back stretch and maintained his position to win by one length in a fast time of 28.64. At the same venue on the previous Thursday night there was four Clare winners to cheer home. Getting the Banner roar going was the performer of the night Sugan Snowey who recorded career win number two and back-to-back victories in a fantastic 28.76. Snowey is owned by Cooraclare father and son team, Anthony and Mark Cusack and is a daughter of Skywalker Tuco and Sugan Jet. In an A3 contest, Slippery Joe made it win number ten for Mullagh native Pat Curtin who now resides in Mountshannon, a son of Kissed for Cloda and Royal Diva led from the off to win by two and a half lengths in 28.93. Snuggie Jessie recorded

her first career win in 29.49 for an A6 contest, owned by Myles Cummins form Newmarket-on-Fergus this daughter of Sir Paddy and Snuggie Whisper led from trap to line win by three and a half lengths. It was a similar case for Donnacha McNamara of Tulla’s Rockalong Mikado when leading all the way to record 29.20 and make it career win number two for this son of Droopys Cain and Sues Stout. Last Friday night’s Galway card featured the opening round heats of various Sweepstakes Sponsored by the Western Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association with the semi-finals of the deceased members A2 550 the twin features . Racing opened with an A5 graded 525 yards contest in which Jill Be Slick and Astro Podge both began well with the latter taking two length advantage rounding the opening bend. Racing down the back straight the Madden-Pepper Syndicate of Feakle owned Astro Podge extended his advantage to over four lengths as Jill Be Slick and Larchill Pop gave chase but from the crown of the home bend the Donie Duggan of Tulla trained leader began search for the line and the son of Ballymac Best and Dynamic Cool Sky was all out to hold the renewed challenge of Jill Be Slick by a neck to make it two wins from two starts in 29.40.

Race two was an A6 graded contest which developed into a match from an early stage as the fast starting Browne Bomber led on the run towards the opening bend from Tromora Ange with Johnny Ger Gar back in third place. Racing along the back Browne Bomber continued to show the way to Tromora Ange with three lengths back to the remainder headed by Annadown Mike. Approaching the penultimate corner the David Hogan of Quilty owned Tromora Ange (Droopys Sydney-Tromora Floss) went to the front and kicked two lengths clear but she was all out close home as Browne Bomber closed to within a short head again at the line in 29.34. As the traps rose for the second heat of the WGOBA Brigid Frank Appreciation A4 525 Stake Ballaghboy Panda was away smartly in the centre of the track and showing pace to the bend the son of Lenson Panda and Sues Music led Merciful Debbie by over two lengths with Lingrawn Salmon in third place as they headed for the back straight. Racing down the back the Jerry Maloney and Patrick O’Driscoll of Doora owned Ballaghboy Panda was setting sail for home as Lingrawn Angie came out of the pack to give chase. Off the home bend Ballaghboy Panda was in need of the line which arrived with half a length to spare in 29.38.

When their racing days are over, we are there to care.

We’ve rehomed 3,435 retired greyhounds in the last two years.

When their racing days are over, we are there to care. We’ve rehomed 3,435 retired greyhounds in the last two years.

CLASSIFIEDS 51

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

PLANNING NOTICES CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYNEW, MILTOWN MALBAY, CO CLARE Take notice that Geraldine Mc Caw and Sean Brogan intend to apply for permission to build a new Dwelling House, Garage, bore a well, install a wastewater treatment system & all other associated site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL KILLASPUGLONANE, LAHINCH, CO. CLARE Take notice that David McDonagh intends to apply for Permission to build a new Dwelling House, install a wastewater treatment system & all other associated site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL DOUGH, KILKEE, CO. CLARE We, Gold Star Homes 3 Limited, intend to apply for outline permission for development at a 1.33 hectare site at Dough, Kilkee, Co. Clare, located north of Moonin estate. The development will consist of a Caravan Park / Camp Site / Mo-

tor Home Park (Tourist uses) / Glamping Use together with all associated and ancillary works including site access from an unnamed road to the south, site services, boundary treatment, landscaping, and visitor amenities in a single storey block on the site. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL NO. 5 FRANCES STREET, KILRUSH, CO. CLARE Take notice that Niall Dawson is applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to convert a former commercial unit into a ground floor apartment along with elevational changes and all associated works at the above address. No. 5 Frances Street is in an Architectural Conservation Area. 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 CAPPAGH MORE, BAREFIELD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE Take notice that Michael Keating Dip. Arch. (phone 085-8421780), on behalf of Ciara Fahy, intends to apply to Clare County Council for an outline permission for a Dwelling House and Garage, new site entrance, connect to proprietary waste water treatment

system, a bored well and carry out all ancillary site works at Cappagh More, Barefield, Ennis. 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 DROMARD, DRUMCLIFFE ROAD, ENNIS CO. CLARE Take notice that “Merlot Homes Limited” intends to apply to Clare County Council for planning permission to retain the following – Single storey rear extensions to houses (houses presently under construction, permitted under planning ref P19/804). The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority, Clare County Council planning department, Aras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL NO. 5 FRANCES STREET, KILRUSH, CO. CLARe Take notice that Niall Dawson is applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to convert a former commercial unit into a ground floor apartment along with elevational changes and all associated works at the above address. No. 5 Frances Street is in an Architectural Conservation Area.

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 BALLYDUFF, BAREFIELD, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co. Clare 065 6893565 www. foudyconsulting.ie. intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Michael Noone for a) permission to alter boundaries b) permission to upgrade existing septic tank and soakpit to an advanced wastewater treatment system and soil polishing filter in existing site c) outline planning permission to construct an entrance, dwelling house, garage, wastewater treatment system and soil polishing filter together with all associated site development works and services at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL TOOREEN, KILMORE, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co. Clare 065 6893565 www. foudyconsulting.ie intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Bryan & Kelli Kenne-

dy for permission to construct a dwelling house, garage, wastewater treatment system with soil polishing filter together with all associated site development works and services including connection to existing well at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL TOBERTAISCAIN, CLONROAD MORE, ENNIS, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co. Clare 065 6893565 www. foudyconsulting.ie. intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Jack & Niamh McCarthy for permission to a) convert existing garage to accommodation, b) construct side and rear extensions c) carry out alterations and fenestration changes to existing dwelling house together with all associated site development works and services at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYLAAN, LISCANNOR, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis,

Co. Clare 065 6893565 www.foudyconsulting. ie. intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Paudie O’Callaghan for permission to a) construct front and side extensions b) carry out alterations to existing cottage together with all ancillary site development works and services at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL 32 SEAPARK, LAHINCH, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co. Clare 065 6893565 www.foudyconsulting. ie intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Jimmy & Noelle Sadlier for permission to a) construct side and rear extensions b) carry out fenestration changes and alterations to the existing dwelling house together with all ancillary site development works and services at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL TEERMACLANE, BALLYEA, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co.

Clare 065 6893565 www. foudyconsulting.ie intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of Michelle & Ronan O’ Looney for permission to a) construct side and rear extensions b) carry out alterations and fenestration changes to existing dwelling house together with all associated site development works and services at the above address.The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL CARROWMORE NORTH, MULLAGH, CO.CLARE Further Information/Revised Plans Planning Ref: P21/896 Development Description: To extend existing dwelling house, and upgrade existing sewerage system. Location: Carrowmore North, Mullagh, Clare Take notice that T.Garvey has lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P21/896. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority or in the case of a planning application by an EIS within 5 weeks of receipt of such notices by the planning authority.

52 CLASSIFIEDS

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THIS WEEKS PUZZLES DEC 16

SUDOKU 4

Mystery

How to play

Question

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

(7) ) e (6) se (8)

2 8

9 2 1

6 9 8 5 4 3 7

8 4

5 9

1 6

EASY 9/6/2021

Trivia

Teaser

Solution

Riddle

How to play

Rebus

ANSWERS

HOW TO PLAY

Number

Jigsaw

Logic

Enigma

Cryptic

Crossword

(7)

Conundrum

Clue

Answer

Word Search

Anagram

Twister

Acrostic

EASY

WORD SEARCH

9/6/2021

) s on another (8) 1/1

The Clare Echo Crossword

Y B

M A

: 6 September 2021

A W L

W A

G G O N R

O T

R O

that's not too difﬁcult - just break.

C 3

R U

E P

S T

T F

U G H 5

T S

O O

H O W E

U L

A E

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CROSSWORD ANSWERS E

1 Yorkshire racecourse (8) 2 Nasal tone (5) 4 To the opposite side (6) 5 Zest, relish (5) 6 Cut into three parts (7) 7 Floating platform (4) 8 Fair-haired (6) 13 Scented (8) 15 Non-professional (7) 17 London’s river (6) 18 English county (6) 20 Melodies (5) 22 Light weight (5) 23 Cut with shears (4)

DOWN

1 Unit of power (4) 3 Female child (8) 9 Fishing vessel (7) 10 Inflexible (5) 11 Incite (3,2) 12 Brief period of rain (6) 14 Red Indian warriors (6) 16 Piece of sculpture (6) 19 Cuban leader since 1959 (6) 21 Stand-offish (5) 24 Stay in bed longer (3,2) 25 Breastbone (7) 26 Organism that lives on another (8) 27 Necessity (4)

ACROSS

(6) rs (6) (6) e 1959 (6)

r (3,2)

er (8)

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

1/1

ﬁcult - just

PUZZLEPAGE

1/1

er 2021

QUIZ 55

THURSDAY, DEC 16 2021

The Clare Echo Quiz CLARE BOOKS OF 2021

Virgin Media news correspondent, William Crowley published a book on 1untold Richard Chambers chronicles the 6 which housing estate in Ennis this year? story of Ireland’s response to the

recounting their most memorable game? A: Eoin Brennan B: Peter O’Connell C: Joe Ó Muircheartaigh

The Scariff Martyrs by Tomás Mac 3 Conmara tells the story of ‘the four who fell’ with the murders of Michael

McMahon, Alphie Rodgers, Martin Gildea and Michael Egan on 16th November 1920. Where were they killed? A: Killaloe B: Scariff C: Ogonnelloe

Colm Liddy released three historical 4 books this year looking at times gone by in which parish of Clare? A: Kilrush B: Fanore C: Newmarket-on-Fergus

Jane Halloran Ryan released a book 5 entitled Clooney Graveyard Inscriptions in November which detailed history

Musings Miscellany Clare was 7 released by Christy Killeen in recent months sharing his love for the county. Where in Clare is he from? A: Carrigaholt B: Cranny C: Cree

Which member of the Clare Roots 8 Society was the author of a book on the Old Mill Street? A: Larry Brennan B: Gerry Woods C: John Bradley

Stones and Stories written by Marie 9 McGauhan is a children’s book telling tales from which part of the county?

l Richard Chambers released his first book this year

A: Loop Head Peninsula B: The Spa C: The Burren

RTÉ broadcaster, Marty Morrissey 10 released his autobiography this October. What is it called? A: The Marty Party B: It’s Marty C: The Marty Memoir

as far back as the early 1700s. Where is she a native of? A: Clooney B: Connecticut C: Dangan

Spot the Difference Can you spot the difference? Spot the 7 differences. The answers will be revealed in next weeks edition.

ANSWERS 6. Old Military Barracks 7. Cree 8. Gerry Woods 9. The Burren 10. It’s Marty

Which Clare journalist compiled the 2 stories from the county’s hurlers which are shared in ‘Game of My Life’

A: Corrovirron Avenue B: Cahercalla Heights C: Old Military Barracks

1. Lahinch 2. Peter O’Connell 3. Killaloe 4. Newmarket-on-Fergus 5. Connecticut

COVID-19 crisis in ‘A State of Emergency’. Where in Clare did he grow up? A: Ardnacrusha B: Ballyea C: Lahinch

Last weeks Answers . Crest missing on man (right) . Zip on pocket missing (right) . Star missing in background . Mouth missing on reindeer (front)

. Logo missing on purple circle (front) . Eyes on snowman missing . Zip missing on childs yellow jacket

Officers collecting votes during County Convention on Tuesday, Flann O’Reilly, Michael Curtin, Bernard Keane, John Fawl and Simon Moroney. Photograph: Natasha Barton

AND GUTTERING CLARE