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Only 6 gardaí in last decade PÁRAIC McMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

LARE has received just six new Garda members in the space of ten years. During a visit to Clare on Monday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was pressed on whether he had plans to increase the amount of Gardaí stationed in the county by Chair of the Clare Joint Policing Committee, Cllr John Crowe (FG) and Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF). Commissioner Harris said that fourteen Gardaí had been reassigned

to the frontline from various administration positions in the Clare Division while over the past ten years, there has been an increase of six Garda members in the Division. Deputy Crowe stressed that Clare is “a rural county wedged between two cities, it has an international airport and a number of Direct Provision sites, we’ve the largest town in Munster that isn’t a city, there are many reasons why Clare deserves more Gardaí”. Addition of six Gardaí to the Division in a decade was labelled as “alarming” by the Meelick native.

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Continues pg 2

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Index NEWS

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

MINDING THEIR MINDS

2-17

by PÁRAIC McMAHON

SHANNON FEATURE 18-21 GREENER CLARE

COLUMNISTS

24-26

RECRUITMENT

28-29

WEDDINGS

30-39

SPORT

43-50

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

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

Six new Gardaí in 10 years

MENTAL HEALTH: TY Students at St Joseph’s Secondary School Tulla were presented with an ‘Investing in Children’ Award for their Mental Health Tool: ‘I-Can - Mind My Mental Health’. Students Eoin Donnellan, Vivienne O Sullivan, Ella Donovan, Noah Doherty, Laura Nolan, Matthew Boland, Darragh Leamy, Dillon Gunning , Ava Kennelly,Eimer Culloo with (L-R) Olivia O Connor- Guidance Counsellor St Joseph’s, Aisling Mulhall- Senior CFSN Coordinator, PPFS, Tusla, Aine Mellett- Senior PPFS Manager, Tusla and Juliet Coman- Principal St Joseph’s Photo by Arthur Ellis

Continued from front... E NOTED that the closure of the Garda station in Broadford has put “added pressure” on Killaloe and Ardnacrusha. He issued an appeal following the commitments in the Budget to “free up more Gardaí to be back on the beat in Clare”. Garda presence has decreased as villages have grown in size, Cllr Crowe told the meeting. “In the last number of years we’ve seen small villages growing up into towns, the big problem with the increase in population in a lot of these areas the Garda representatives on the ground has in fact been decreased”. Advising the meeting on changes to the operating model in An Garda Síochána, Commissioner Harris spoke of plans for increased recruitment and the removal of non-core policing duties from An Garda Síochána. He welcomed the commitment from last week’s Budget to recruit 800 more Gardaí which he said would equate at 450 new members given that “we always have about 350 cessations in any year”. He expected there would be 14,600 Garda members across the country by the end of next year with a strong proportion of this to be allocated to divisional policing, he said the soon to be amalgamated Clare and Tipperary Garda Division “will get their share of those”. “I would also point to the additional twenty Garda staff that have been appointed to Clare, that has displaced a further twenty Garda members onto the ground, it is part of the strategy of Garda numbers increasing but also Garda staff employed to displace warranted Garda members to frontline duties be it community policing or detective duties”.

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THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Saﬀron and Blue Plan issues recommendations to GAA PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

AA clubs in the county have been furnished with the finalised five year strategic plan for Clare GAA. Two separate documents which are a combined 169 pages were sent to clubs via the secretary of Clare GAA, Pat Fitzgerald at lunchtime on Wednesday. Compiled by the Strategic Plan Group (SPG) since the first week of March in this year off the back of an initial proposal by Éire Óg’s Niall O’Connor, the recommendation report is to be put forward for adoption at a special congress next month. Once it is approved, it will move into an implementation phase, a timeline for which has also been drafted by the SPG. Members of the SPG include Chairman Enda Connolly, along with Eoin Conroy, Eoin Doohan, Conor Gilligan, Roisin Glynn, Colin Kelly, Kieran Keating, Mark O’Connell and Enda O’Flaherty. 500 survey submissions were made by Clare GAA club members and the public while over 100 one on one interviews and consultations were held in the preparation of the report. 35 GAA clubs in the county made submissions while the group had 30 discussion groups with different clubs. 23 percent of the public surveyed said the commercial development of Clare GAA should be the next biggest priority after governance. In addition to this, 29% of clubs clearly stated that the Commercial

TACTICS: The report will be put forward for approval next month Development of Clare GAA was also their second priority to be addressed as part of the strategic plan. Clare GAA’s social media engagement ranks among the lowest in the country, the report outlined while adding that the core fundraising income “remained static”. There are four strategic focuses in the plan – governance, clubs, games and commercial growth. Each of these includes a series of recommendations. Appointment of a full-time oper-

ations manager in the first quarter of 2022 with responsibility for the operations and strategic plan implementation as part of an overall succession planning approach is recommended. Another appointment recommended is that of a full time Commercial and Brand Manager for Clare GAA by the second quarter of 2022. Hiring a full-time Finance Manager is also proposed for the second quarter of next year. Creation of a Games Performance Board is suggested to assist

in the development of the best environment for Clare football and hurling teams and monitor the support environment and appointment of management Succession plans are needed for Clare GAA officers with agreed handovers while a target to increase female officers on the County Board Executive and all committees has been set for the end of next year. Development of a joint fundraising initiative to be delivered annu-

ally on a minimum of every two years to be allocated between clubs and Clare GAA is a recommendation under the club focus. 2023 has been set as the timeframe for the hosting of an annual clubs coaching conference. More games based playing opportunities to support club’s growth and player retention from underage to adult level are required. This leads to the proposal to appoint a working group to review existing games structures. The transfer of U19 and U21 competitions to a Bord na nÓg operated structure has also been mooted as part of an expanded programme of underage activity. Making Caherlohan the longterm headquarters of Clare GAA should be the goal, the report noted. Cost analysis of flood lights at Cusack Park are to be considered. A short term strategy to have Clareabbey Rezoned as Residential in the upcoming Development Plan is mentioned, “this increases the value of the facility if Clare GAA decide to divest this real-estate in the future”. Regional S&C centres within the county are to be considered particularly for players from North and West Clare. A paid executive role in the form of a brand manager is also suggested. A relaunch of the brand is needed to increase value. Income stream can be increased from kit and leisurewear by opening Clare GAA to an equipment tender process in 2022, the SPG stated.

For full details of the report, go to www.clareecho.ie.

Ennis retains third spot in post-lockdown litter rankings by ELAINE TUBRIDY THE first post-lockdown survey by Irish Business Against Litter shows Ennis again in third position in the ranking of 40 areas nationwide. While the majority of our towns have cleaned up over the past 12 months, litter in our main cities has worsened to levels not seen in 10 years. Portlaoise emerged as cleanest town. The study found no fall-off in PPE litter across the country. The An Taisce report for Ennis stated: “Another excellent showing for Ennis, cementing its position among the cleanest towns in the country. There were no heavily littered sites. There was plenty of repaving of the town centre sites (e.g., Parnell Street, see below), including many of the laneways off the main shopping streets – these laneways looked great. Despite ‘works’ taking place at Tim Smythe Park and Abbey Street Car Park, they

didn’t impact in any negative way on the litter situation – these sites were particularly freshly presented and maintained. Top-ranking sites included Clare Museum environs and Abbey Street – both were spotless.” The number of areas deemed clean by An Taisce, who carry out the survey on behalf of IBAL, rose from 17 to 23. In all, 68% of towns showed an improvement on last year. Portlaoise, which was at the very foot of the table back in 2010, topped the rankings, ahead of Leixlip and past winner Ennis. IBAL’s Conor Horgan commented: “With local authority cleaning schedules normalising again and volunteer groups re-engaged in clean-ups across the country, our towns are almost as clean as 2 years ago. This is still some way short of where they were in 2014, however.” By contrast, the majority of urban areas

fared worse than in 2020, among them Dublin, Cork and Limerick City Centres, which were all deemed ‘littered’. All but one of the bottom 10 places in the rankings were occupied by urban areas. “For cities, this survey paints a bleak picture,” comments Conor Horgan. “Litter levels have worsened to a level we have not seen in the past ten years. Now that we have emerged from lockdown, we cannot use it as an excuse for high levels of litter. “As we invest in promotional drives and build city hotels in anticipation of more visitors, we need to be mindful of the littered environment we are presenting to them.” For the first time since 2014, Dublin’s North Inner City was deemed a litter blackspot. Of the 25 sites in the area surveyed, only 2 were found to be clean, and 17 were ‘heavily littered’ or worse. The study showed a near-30% increase in

the prevalence of PPE masks on our streets and an increase in alcohol-related litter such as cans and bottles. “The need for PPE has not abated – unfortunately we’re still using disposable masks, we’re still dropping them at an alarming rate and they are still not being picked up,“ says Conor Horgan. “We are consuming more outdoors and this is translating into more food- and drink-related litter.” Despite this, the survey showed a 20% drop in coffee cup litter. There was also a steep fall-off in cigarette butts. IBAL was once again critical of the failure of local authorities to address sites which they have previously highlighted as heavily littered, especially in urban areas. Of the 103 such sites exposed last year, fewer than half have been cleaned up in 2021. 2021 is the 19th year of the IBAL Anti-Litter League.

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THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

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THURSDAY, OCT 14 2021

Misclassiﬁcation of Garda calls 'an ordeal for Clare families' PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

CLARE TD has highlighted the ordeal caused by the misclassification of 999 emergency calls to An Garda Síochána. The Policing Authority have said that Gardaí are continuing to cancel and misclassify 999 calls without going through the proper procedure despite an ongoing public controversy on the matter. These cancellations are in addition to the 53 emergency calls highlighted by the Garda Commissioner last month. High risk 999 calls had been incorrectly reclassified as less serious. An update on the amount relating to Co Clare was sought by Deputy Violet Anne Wynne (SF) at Monday’s meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee. Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris said that 22 incidents in Clare were subject to

a National CAD review from January 1st 2019 to October 23rd 2020. Of these, fourteen were calls for assistance in a domestic setting, six were complaints on missing persons or family issues while two related to mental health. In follow-up calls, none of the Clare victims requested further personal engagement but they were “appreciative of the call made,” Harris stated. “Our experience is that in more rural divisions as you move out from bigger towns and cities, this has been a lesser issue, a small number of calls dealt with set against a number of incidents in the Clare Division in 2020 and 2021”. He offered assurances regarding the response organisation in place and said a new CAD system is to be in operation for 2022. “Everyone would agree the old system wasn’t working and wasn’t helpful,” Deputy Wynne remarked. She continued, “In Clare, a lot of the communities are rural based, there is a concern that victims that might reach out for assis-

JPC: Garda Commissioner Drew Harris

Photo by Eamon Ward

tance and in such areas with a rural base that it is a bigger ordeal for them people to reach out for help when they do make the call. "My concerns are around the fact that the calls were misclassified, I would be concerned that they politely said they didn’t need further assistance when that might not be the case”. Members of the Clare public phoning the Gardaí on emergency matters need “to be treated with the respect and seriousness that they deserved,” the Kilrush woman

Coláiste Muire Ennis

outlined. Speaking further on the matter, Commissioner Harris commented, “The issue for us is that there was a service failure in not classifying them properly and then in terms of the follow through in maintaining contact with the person who made the report, we’ve rectified that by making contact”. He concluded, “We’ve apologised for the service failure, we’ve put in place a means to support the individuals who are reporting domestic abuse or other serious crimes”.

Commissioner not briefed on Nugent report GARDA Commissioner, Drew Harris has yet to be briefed on the findings of a report by retired District Court Judge Patrick Clyne into the Garda investigation and internal Garda disciplinary inquiries that took place following the death of Sixmilebridge man, Patrick Nugent, writes Páraic McMahon. A fortnight ago, members of the Nugent family met with officials in the Department of Justice to "to explain the next steps" regarding the report. It has emerged that the report was only provided to the family on the basis that they do not disclose its contents. This has raised further questions, Clare TD Michael McNamara (IND) has said, “I find it hard to believe if the inquiry found the Garda investigation into Pat Nugent’s death was conducted in an exemplary manner, it would be published at this stage. If the Garda investigation hasn’t been carried out in an exemplary manner, then a proper investigation needs to be carried out for every crime in this country, particularly when it results in someone’s death. If this is the case, then this new investigation needs to start very quickly in view of the fact this incident took place more than 36 years ago”. Following a meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC) on Monday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris outlined that he had yet to be briefed on the 111 page report which was submitted to the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee (FG) last November. “I’ve to receive a briefing in respect of that so I’m not able to comment in respect of those tragic circumstances,” Commissioner Harris told The Clare Echo. Such a briefing has not been scheduled, he confirmed.

Investigation into alleged Garda corruption 'harrowing' by PÁRAIC McMAHON

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Repeated criticisms of suspensions of eight Limerick based Gardaí have been aired by a Clare TD. Speaking in the Dáil earlier this month, Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF) described the suspension of eight Limerick Gardaí since November 8th 2020 as part of an investigation into alleged squaring away of road traffic offences as a “witch-trial”. Alleged “corruption in public office” is the reasoning for the suspension but no charges have been brought against the eight. Deputy Crowe stated, “You could almost call the Limerick Garda Division ‘Salem’ at the moment, because there’s a form of witch-trial going on for the last two years there. Eight members suspended, 60 garda phones confiscated, moral has never been lower”. Speaking to The Clare Echo, Crowe said the investigation has been “fully procrastinated” and “dragged on to everyone’s detriment”. At Monday’s meeting of the Clare JPC, Deputy Crowe raised the matter with the Garda Commissioner. He began by asking if the principle of discretion was still taught to Gardaí when training in Templemore and if it was applied when enforcing the road traffic act. “Discretion is taught from the very first day of training of An Garda Síochána in

Templemore,” Commissioner Harris responded. “It is an essential part of our functioning as a police service”. Of Clare’s approximate population of 118,000, an estimated 16,000 come under the Limerick Garda Division who have Gardaí with a “shroud of suspicion hanging over them,” Deputy Crowe remarked. He said the ongoing investigation was “harrowing” for the families involved. “If they are guilty, they need to be found guilty, if not they need a chance to show that”. A difference exists between discretion and preference, Commissioner Harris responded. “I would say it to every member of An Garda Síochána, preference is unfair, every one of us should be treated equally by the law. All of us have an expectation that we get same treatment before the law”. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Commissioner Harris added, “We understand that a crime investigation is stressful for members of An Garda Síochána but this work must be done. "We must make sure that people can trust An Garda Síochána to be entirely trustworthy and honest in their dealings with them, any of these investigations that we undertake are essential for public conﬁdence in the organisation, they are expedited and dealt with as quickly as possible, we do report these matters to the Director of Public Prosecution”.

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

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8 NEWS

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Ollie takes on biggest wave in the world by STUART HOLLY

LARE big wave surfer Ollie O’Flaherty is preparing to surf the world’s biggest wave, the infamous Nazare break in Portugal. Nazare has in recent years gained notoriety as not just the world’s largest wave, but also the most daunting and most dangerous feat in big wave surﬁng. Ollie is hoping that by the end of October he will have tamed the wave which regularly peaks at 60 foot with claims that it has breached 100 ft. The journey is being made possible in part thanks to the support of Ollie’s sponsors Hotel Doolin, which is just a stone’s throw from one of Ollie’s favourite surﬁng spots at Crab Island. General Manager at Hotel Doolin, Dónal Minihane says, “Our focus in our collaborations is to support local personalities who share the same values as we do and who are trying to make a difference in their community through their chosen passion. Ollie has surfed at the top level in Ireland for many years, representing Ireland as part of the Irish Surf Team and achieving multiple nominations for international Big

Wave Awards. We’re delighted to be supporting Ollie so that he can keep realising his dreams of surfing the biggest waves in the world at home and abroad.” Ollie is a born and bred banner man, he’s been surfing the breaks in Lahinch since he was four year’s old and is no stranger to Doolin with the wave at Crab Island being one of his favourite waves to surf. Ollie’s other passions are working with the local kids in Ollie’s Surf Academy, in recent years coaching six kids to national titles. He also has a keen interest in working on environmental projects, particularly on local issues such as sewage and waste, he has a science degree and a post grad in Corporate Environmental Planning and also runs a community group called Keep Lahinch Clean. Ollie says, “I’m very grateful for the support that the [Hotel Doolin] team has offered to help me achieve my goals this year. I am focusing hard the last two months on intense cardio, breathe holding, meditating and yoga to give myself the best chance of being fully prepared for the big wave season. It’s a whole system approach, if the mind isn't prepared, it doesn't matter how fit you are.”

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Cuban Ambassador headed for Doolin CUBA’S Ambassador to Ireland is to visit North Clare in one of his final public engagements in the role, writes Páraic McMahon. Hugo René Ramos Milanes (inset) will be discussing the relationship between Cuba and Ireland when he addresses the North Clare branch of the Labour party in Hotel Doolin on Thursday (October 28th) at 8:30pm. Inflation, disruptions to supply chains and the pres-

sure on Ireland’s tax rates are among the items that will be also thrashed out. Chairman of the branch, Denis Vaughan told The

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Clare Echo, “Neutral Ireland has over many years maintained a constructive and friendly relationship with Cuba with which, in its struggle for independence, it has so much in common. “In a foreign affairs career that has spanned several decades, Ambassador Milanes has worked tirelessly for the less fortunate around the world, especially in Africa. “He will share with us his perspective on Cuba’s place in the modern world”.

A SECTION of water mains in Cooraclare are to be replaced as part of a two month project. Almost 1850m of “problematic water mains” in Tullabrack and Gower are to be replaced. Early December has been set as the target for completion of the upgrade. Works commenced on Tuesday and will take place on the R483 Cooraclare Road, starting adjacent to Tullabrack Lough and running for approximately 1850m towards

Cooraclare. The project also involves laying new water service connections from the public watermain to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work. Short-term outages may occur while the works are ongoing with customers to get a minimum of 48 hours notice prior to any planned impact.

NEWS 9

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Judge orders HSE to pay paramedic €32,500 defamation damages over 'drink driving' slur

by GORDON DEEGAN GARDA alert for an ambulance driver suspected of drink driving was based on “a criminal complaint” by a senior HSE nurse manager that “was wholly without foundation”. That is according to Judge Brian O’Callaghan who has ordered the HSE to pay €32,500 in damages to paramedic, Gary Fitzpatrick (46) of Murroe, County Limerick after finding that he was defamed by a senior HSE nurse manager four years ago. At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge O’Callaghan said that Assistant Director of Nursing (ADN) at Ennis General Hospital, Carol Cotter in making “the criminal complaint” concerning Mr Fitzpatrick was ‘reckless’ in doing so under the meaning of the 2009 Defamation Act and did do so "almost without abandon". Judge O’Callaghan said that ADN Cotter made the allegation “without honest belief ” from the point of view of the Defamation Act. Judge O’Callaghan said that if Mr Fitzpatrick had not self-presented at Killaloe Garda Station to take a breath test to disprove the allegation on the day of being a drink driver of an ambulance “undoubtedly, he would have been stopped at some stage by Gardaí, arrested and brought into a station”. The judge said that when Mr Fitzpatrick did present himself to a Garda at Killaloe Garda Station on Sunday March 26th 2017 for a breath test, the Garda said into his radio “stand down, the ambulance has self presented”. Stationed at the ambulance station in Scariff at the time, Mr Fitzpatrick later presented for a blood alcohol test at University Hospital Limerick after the breath test outside the

Garda station didn’t provide a printed record of the negative result. The blood test was also negative for alcohol. Judge O’Callaghan said that before Mr Fitzpatrick received a phone call from his line manager advising him to go for a breath test it was unknown to him “that there was a Garda call out to get the man on his ambulance on suspicion of drink driving”. Assessing damages in the case, Judge O’Callaghan stated that the alleged drink driving complaint made against Mr Fitzpatrick “is one of the most negative complaints that could be made about a paramedic”. Judge O’Callaghan stated that Mr Fitzpatrick’s “reputation as far as this court is concerned is without blemish”. Judge O’Callaghan said that there were many steps that ADN Cotter should have taken before taking the “drastic action” in phoning Limerick Gardai with the allegation. ADN Cotter phoned Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick on Sunday March 26th 2017 after two nurses at the Minor Injuries Unit at Ennis General Hospital told her that there may have been a smell of alcohol from Mr Fitzpatrick’s breath. However, Judge O’Callaghan said that the two nurses concerned were ‘angry’ after a stand-off that they had with Mr Fitzpatrick over an elderly patient they refused to treat due to a HSE by-pass protocol in place for patients with head injuries. Judge O’Callaghan said that Mr Fitzpatrick and his colleague had brought the patient to the unit from a Clare hurling match at Cusack Park after being provided with a letter do to so by a doctor in order to apply sutures to a wound over the man’s eye. The two paramedics brought the man on a stretcher to the minor injuries unit but brought him back out to go to University

Drug seizure at Kilrush house COCAINE and cannabis with a combined value of over €40,000 plus an air pistol and air riﬂe were seized at a Kilrush property on Friday, writes Páraic McMahon. Gardaí from the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit with the assistance of uniformed Gardaí from Kilrush Garda Station carried out a search under warrant at a house in

Kilrush as part of Operation Tara targeting the sale and supply of controlled drugs in the county. Suspected Cocaine with an estimated street value of €35,000, eight Cannabis Plants with an estimated street value of €6,500 and an air pistol and air rifle were seized as part of the search. The suspected controlled drugs will be forwarded to

Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. A male in his mid thirties was arrested at the scene and was detained at Kilrush Garda Station under the provisions of Section 2 Criminal Justice (Drug Trafﬁcking) Act 1996. This male has since been charged and released on bail to appear before Kilrush District Court in the coming days.

Hospital Limerick after the nurses refused to treat the man. Judge O’Callaghan said that “for some inexplicable reason, the systems within the HSE collapsed on the arrival of the ambulance” containing the patient at Ennis General on that Sunday afternoon. Judge O’Callaghan stated that ADN Cotter “wholly and completely relied upon the veracity of two of her nurse colleagues and did not make basic further inquiries that she should have made”. The judge said that in evidence, ADN Cotter “didn’t have a feeling one way or the other when she learned that in fact Mr Fitzpatrick had no alcohol and that the complaint she made to the Gardai was wholly without foundation”. Judge O’Callaghan ruled that the HSE defence of qualified privilege didn’t apply in this case. In evidence, Mr Fitzpatrick said that when he was informed of the allegation “I thought it was a wind-up”. He said that when he realised that it wasn’t “I felt mortified, humiliated and undermined”. Counsel for Mr Fitzpatrick, Peter Klein BL said that not a scrap of evidence was presented to court that his client had any drink taken. Mr Klein pointed out that the two HSE nurses who claimed that there might have been a smell of alcohol from Mr Fitzpatrick were not put forward as HSE witnesses in the case and were not available to be cross-examined. The only HSE witness in the case was ADN Cotter.

Mr Fitzpatrick said as he was working a weekend shift that weekend, the most recent time that he may have been drinking alcohol was the previous Wednesday night. Mr Fitzpatrick said that he was a paramedic for 18 years before the March 2017 incident and has since left the National Ambulance Service. Mr Fitzpatrick’s partner paramedic on the day, Tina Owen said that the ‘drink’ allegation was ‘unbelievable’. Ms Owen said that ‘it made no sense’ and that that there was absolutely nothing that would give her the slightest concern over Mr Fitzpatrick on the day. She stated that the horrible thing from her point of view concerning the allegation “was that I would tolerate Gary driving an ambulance if he was under the influence and expose a patient to that as well”. In her evidence, ADN Cotter told the court that if she was presented with the same set of circumstances again she would take the same course of action. ADN Cotter told the court: “When something of that nature is reported, I didn’t have any other option but to take the course that I did.” ADN Cotter told the court that she felt compelled to act on the information that she had received from the two nurses. She stated: “I felt that the situation was time critical and the ambulance had left with the patient. If something happened to that ambulance or patient on the way to Limerick, and I had not acted immediately…” Judge O’Callaghan also ordered that the HSE pay Mr Fitzpatrick’s costs in the case.

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THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Historical walk recounts President Higgins card skills

Judge dismisses €60,000 claim of farmer knocked out by ‘mad cow’

by GORDON DEEGAN

 JAUNT: The coach driven by Sean Kilkenny A HISTORICAL walk in Newmarket-on-Fergus has recalled the card playing skills of the President of Ireland during his youth, writes Páraic McMahon. It was on Peter Higgins’ land near Patsy Counihans in Ballinacragga that his nephew, later the President of Ireland often played cards. On Sunday 9th October, the Two President’s Road also known as The Old Road

in Ballycar echoed to the clip clop of the two Paddys (horses) pulling a coach driven by Patsy’s grandnephew Sean Kilkenny. Lorcky Enright followed the innkeeper custom by greeting a group of walkers to his farmhouse, once the inn of John Spring. It was the starting point of the walk which John Ryan introduced. The walks will continue in November and December.

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JUDGE has dismissed a €60,000 personal injury action by a 79 year old farmer who “suffered horrible injuries” when attacked and knocked out by a ‘mad cow’ at a mart four years ago. At Ennis Circuit Court, Meelick farmer, Noel Broggy told the court that he was flattened and knocked out when attacked by a ‘mad cow’ at Sixmilebridge Mart, Co Clare on May 6th 2017. Mr Broggy was attacked while retrieving an unsold cow and calf of his from a pen at the mart where there where five or six other cattle also present. Farming since he was aged 14, Mr Broggy said that he was “lying in a pool of blood’ on the ground after he suffered a head wound that required 13 stitches after the cow attack. Giving evidence in his personal injury action against Sixmilebridge Co-Operative Mart Ltd, Noel Broggy told the court: “This cow went for me - I didn’t know she was a mad cow, I knew nothing about the cow.” He said: “She hit me in the stomach. I was knocked out unconscious.” He told the court: “I got a fair rattling off the ground. I was lucky enough that she flattened me where I was that is what saved me.” Noel Broggy added: “If she brought me over to the bars, my neck and my back could have been broken.” Mr Broggy’s son Donal Thomas immediately came to his father’s aid and told the court that he ran at the cow and struck her head with his hip. Donal Thomas Broggy told the court that he ran against the 700 kilo animal after he saw her “butting my father with her head”. Donal Thomas Broggy said: “I thought he was dead. His hands were still in the air. There was no breathing.”

Donal Thomas Broggy told the court that the cow who attacked his father then left the pen with the other animals through an open gate. Donal Thomas Broggy told the court that he grabbed his father and held him and told him that ‘he would be alright and he would be grand’. The witness said that his father came around after being put on a chair and an ambulance took him to University Hospital Limerick where he remained for one night and two days. Turning 80 next month, Noel Broggy said with the vertigo brought on by the attack he wasn’t able to tie his shoe laces or wash his hair. He said that he had the vertigo for three and a half years after the attack. Mr Broggy’s claim also stated that as a result of the attack, he wasn’t able to jive or dance. The owner of 60 suckler cattle told the court: “Only for my son I would have to sell the cattle to be honest with you.” Noel Broggy’s personal injury action against the mart firm was based on his contention that there was a fractious cow in an isolation pen and she was let through by the mart with the other animals into the pen where he was attacked. Noel Broggy (represented by David O’Regan BL and instructed by Sharon Curley of Carmody and Co Solicitors) told the court that the fractious cow “was in the isolation pen and they (the mart) should have put her back in the isolation pen and not mixed her with my cow and calf ”. Then manager of the Sixmilebridge Mart, Sean Ryan denied this telling the court that there was no fractious cow in an isolation pen and if any cow is identified as fractious, the farmer is asked to take her home before they even enter the mart.

Mr Ryan said that the only animals placed in an isolation pen are those who are not compliant with Dept of Agriculture regulations. Judge Brian O’Callaghan dismissed Mr Broggy’s case stating there was a lack of evidence linking what may have been a fractious cow to the cow who attacked Mr Broggy. Judge O’Callaghan said that no direct evidence was provided concerning the identity of the cow who attacked Mr Broggy. He said: “No one has said that the fractious cow is the same animal who attacked Mr Broggy.” Judge O’Callaghan said that Noel Broggy suffered ‘horrible injuries’ and “gave the most honest and clear cut evidence”. Judge O’Callaghan stated that the mart cannot be held responsible for ‘the odd beast’ who would surprise every one with a bad turn unless there is a breach of duty by the mart. The judge said that there is no breach of duty by the mart as there is no evidence that the system was bad at the mart in controlling access to animals. Judge O’Callaghan said that even if he did find against the mart over permitting Mr Broggy into the pen, he would have found Mr Broggy at least 75pc responsible and dismissed the action on that point. Mr Ryan told the court that the Sixmilebridge mart is very successful. Only recently retired after 10 years in the role, Mr Ryan told Judge O’Callaghan: “We are responsible in the mart and we run a responsible mart. We have a very good safety record at Sixmilebridge mart.” Mr Ryan also stated that there was no pool of blood found in the pen after the May 2017 incident. Judge O’Callaghan made no order in relation to the costs of the case meaning that Noel Broggy doesn’t have to pay the mart’s legal costs after losing the action.

NEWS

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

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12 NEWS

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Varadkar to launch Ennis 2040 strategy on Friday PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

ANÁISTE Leo Varadkar (FG) (inset) is to launch the Ennis 2040 Strategy this Friday. Plans to officially launch the much-anticipated strategy had been deferred since last January with the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (FF) originally due to be the guest of honour. Discussions continued between Clare County Council and the Taoiseach’s Department since then however the Tanáiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has been drafted in for the Cork native who had made commitments to launch the strategy. Population growth of 1.6 percent per annum is one target for the county town under the Ennis 2040 Economic and Spatial Strategy along with the addition of 5,000 jobs by 2040. As previously reported by The Clare Echo, there are nine transformational projects iden-

tified in the document. It suggests major retail and hotel use for a revamped Cornmarket St, commercial plans for the riverside area of Abbey St, improved pedestrian accessiblity at Harvey’s Quay and the Post Office Field, a potential multi-storey car park at Friar’s Walk and different future uses of the old Ennis National School building. Developing a boardwalk and cycle paths at Clareabbey is hoped to boost its standing in the tourism sphere while further down the road the Roche site is included alongside Clare Technology Park as areas for future job creation. Initially included among the transformational projects was the Ennis Data Centre, plans for which are currently paused. Ennis will become Ireland’s first ‘climate adaptive town’ under the strategy which also references the ‘ten-minute town’ con-

cept that is said to boost investment and deliver a better quality of life. Former CEO of Moy Valley Resources, Kevin Corrigan has recently been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Ennis 2040 Designated Activity Company (DAC). He will move into the newly refurbished offices above the Clare Museum in mid-October. Gerry Cahill formerly of Roche is to chair the DAC’s Board of Directors and it is also set to include AIB’s Kieran Considine, founder of TTM Healthcare Brian Crowley, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), Cllr Ann Norton (IND), Clare County Council’s Head of Finance Noeleen Fitzgerald and Director of Service Liam Conneally. In June, Clare councillors voted 23-5 in favour of drawing down a €10m loan for the Ennis 2040 DAC.

HALF LOAD

Dooley hits out at Walsh for knocking airline proposal by PÁRAIC McMAHON SENATOR Timmy Dooley (FF) has hit back at the former CEO of Aer Lingus for knocking his suggestion that Shannon Airport set up its own airline. As reported by The Clare Echo, Senator Dooley encouraged Shannon Group Chairperson Designate Pádraig Ó Céidigh at a sitting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications that Shannon Airport establish its own small-scale airline. Willie Walsh, the ex CEO of Aer Lingus and British Airways said the call for Shannon Airport to establish its own airline was “madness”. The CEO of the International Air Transport Association said airports should focus on running airports. "I hear lots of crazy ideas from politicians but that’s probably one of the most crazy ones I’ve heard," the Dublin native stated. "Running airlines and running airports are two completely different things," he added. Walsh’s comments were disrespectful, Senator Dooley believed. “The reality is that I would have expected Willie Walsh to say something like that. Willie Walsh is a corporate captain who wants everything centralised, uncomplicated and the likes of Shannon Airport and the needs of peripheral regions flies completely in the face of everything he stands for. We have seen the commitment to the Shannon region by the airlines he presided over, from Aer Lingus to British Airways and IAG. Today all we have is a reduced temporary Heathrow service until November and no promise of a return to trans-

atlantic services next year. He is all about the shareholder value and never about the social benefit or the needs of those that live outside the large urban areas.” Senator Dooley added: “His comments today are utterly disrespectful and condescending to the people who refused all those years ago to accept the type of conventional thinking that Willie Walsh brings to the table. They refused to listen to people who dismissed their ideas and ambition and look at what happened as a result. Shannon’s history as an economic driver, its role in the start of the world’s first free trade zone and link to tourism in the West of Ireland strengthen the proposal, Dooley affirmed. “Shannon has always succeeded because it dared to try things that others wouldn’t contemplate. It refused to go with the flow and it was that type of thinking that made it the success it has been over the years and brought economic development to this part of the island of Ireland. It is that type of thinking and spirit that we need to summon and certainly we do not need to listen to the likes of Willie Walsh with his big-city corporate thinking. “So, if anything, Willie Walsh’s comments are a call to action from all the people involved with Shannon to recapture that spirit of the underdog, to refuse to accept convention and to not be limited by others' lack of ambition If considering establishing an airline is part of that thinking, let’s explore it and if it doesn’t work out as a concept, so be it”.

NEWS 13

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

WAITING TO WELCOME A NEW LIFE VACANCY PANEL OF CARETAKERS REF. NO 21/27

PANEL OF CLEANERS REF. NO 21/28 Applications are invited to form panels from which future full time and part time positions may be filled in any one of the second level school or Further Education and Training centres within Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. The ideal candidates will be suitably skilled and have previous experience in a school/centre environment. Interested candidates should request an application form by emailing recruitment@lcetb.ie.

NOT LONG NOW: Sarah Kyne from LA on holidays in Ireland, expecting her second child, pictured at Doolin pier before sunrise Photo by Brian Arthur

Parking creating ‘hazard’ for road users outside school PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

“hazard” has been created for road users outside a supermarket and large primary school in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Installation of barriers were sought by Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) at the junction where the Loughash Rd meets the Ennis Rd on the R458 outside Eurospar and a main access point to Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Cars parking at the junction are “causing a hazard for road users as they emerge from this junction,” McMahon stated. His

Completed application forms should be returned no later than 12 noon on Thursday 04th November 2021 Late applications will not be considered. Shortlisting may take place. Canvassing will disqualify. LCETB is an equal opportunities employer. Garda Vetting will apply. It is proposed to conduct interviews at the earliest opportunity following the closing date.

proposal was seconded by Cllr PJ Ryan (IND). An assessment to ﬁnd the “most appropriate layout and arrangement of bollards required to achieve a successful outcome for this motion” will be completed, senior executive engineer Tom Mellett outlined. “It is an ongoing problem but it has got worse lately,” Cllr McMahon flagged. “Anyone coming from the shop down right into the village will know that cars consistently park on the right in front of the main Ennis Rd, if you’re going down into the village it makes it very dangerous for cars coming up towards Ennis”. He added, “It is totally blind and a wide open road, cars tend to accelerate coming out of the village”. Matters have “been aggravated with a very busy school across the way, two soccer pitches and an astro turf with a huge amount of activity seven days a week,” the Newmarket-on-Fergus representative concluded.

PANEL OF CLERICAL OFFICERS – GRADE III Ref. No.010641 Applications are invited for the above panel. Further details are available on www.lcetb.ie Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Canvassing will disqualify.

Castle Carraig Riding Club to host fundraising table quiz & rafﬂe TOONAGH based Castle Carraig Riding Club are to hold a table quiz next Friday. Located at the Banner Equestrian Centre, Castle Carraig Riding Club will be having a table

quiz at The Grove Bar in Roslevan on Friday (October 29th) commencing at 9:30pm sharp. €100 is the prize for the winning team with the entry fee set at €40 for tables of four.

A raffle is also to be held on the night giving those who may not be so fortunate with the questions a chance to have some success.

Flagmount to host centenary commemoration of ambush A CENTENARY commemoration of the Currakyle Ambush is to take place in Flagmount on Friday next, writes Páraic McMahon. Sean Moroney and Pat Houlihan’s contributions as part of the sixth battalion of the East Clare Brigade will be marked in a special event at Flagmount Hall on Friday (October 29th) beginning at 8pm. Initially planned to take place in June, the commemoration has been deferred with members of the East Clare Memorial Committee hopeful of a turnout to rightly honour the two men. Acclaimed oral historian, Dr Tomás Mac Conmara of Tuamgraney is to present a lecture titled ‘the two who fought two hundred’. A booklet will

also be launched at the event. Pat Hayes is part of the East Clare Memorial Committee, he told The Clare Echo that the area must acknowledge those who played a part in fighting for the country’s freedom. “For the communities of Killanena, Flagmount and Feakle, the sixth battalion was very much to the fore and involved in the Irish fight for freedom, it is important we acknowledge the contribution of Pat and Sean in their own community this is very important 100 years on. “It is an important event for our community, the contribution of Pat, Sean and all members were very much part of fight for Irish freedom,” he added.

PANEL OF MUSIC GENERATION TUTORS Ref. No. 010621

Applications are invited from Music Tutors to form a panel for Music Generation Programmes in City of Limerick, Co. Clare and Co. Limerick. We have an immediate requirement for the following subject areas: •

Classical Strings (City of Limerick)

•

Music Theatre performance music educators (City of Limerick)

•

Creative school’s programmes (Co Clare)

•

Music Technology and Production (Co Clare)

•

Wellbeing programmes (Co Clare)

•

Fiddle (Co Clare)

•

Concertina (Co Clare)

•

Banjo (Co Clare)

•

Guitar and Ukulele (Co Clare) Online application form and further details are available on www.lcetb.ie Closing time and date for receipt of applications is 12 noon Monday 25th October, 2021. Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Canvassing will disqualify.

14 NEWS

The climate change debate

RECENT review was conducted into the widely circulated claim that 97% of all climate scientists had concluded that man made actions were contributing to climate change. The reviewer pointed to the fact that the claim was over a decade old and that it needed to be re-examined. What Welsh environmental writer Mark Lynas found was that between 2012 and 2021, that figure of peer reviewed climate science papers blaming climate change on human activity had jumped to 99.9%. There is no doubt in the scientific community but that our collective actions are changing the way the climate of this planet is behaving. Yet, that is often where the clarity on the debate ends. The debate as to how to address it is much murkier. This has cropped up its head locally in recent months with a proposal to build a data centre in Ennis becoming a lightning rod for discussing on our country’s future energy and sustainability policies. Feelings on the topic have been running high as discussions about the proposal have evoked heated debate. Firstly, it should be stated that the world needs data centres.

If we are to press ahead with a paperless, digital economy and society, we need somewhere to store the large volumes of information that such an existence generates. I’m not talking about your Facebook photos from a birthday party 12 years ago for a person you haven’t seen in 9 years. What we do need to store is order processing information for online purchases, customer complaints, medical records (although here in Ireland we are still far too reliant on paper records for such purposes) and data from various Government agencies. Data centres are here to stay and, as luck might or might not have, depending on your point of view, Ireland is by far one of the most ideal places on Earth to locate them. Our cool temperate climate, along with lack of risk from natural disaster, make us a prime candidate for efficient data storage and, more pertinently, sustainable storage. It takes less energy to store data here and as such, allowing it be stored in Ireland, is, effectively, part of the country doing our bit for the global good to try keep global energy consumption down. That said, if the world and their mother want to store data here, then it should be those looking to do the storing that pay the

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Eoin Neylon

An inside look at Clare’s political spectrum

price, not the ordinary citizen as our national grid comes under increasing strain. Some projections show that proliferation of data centres over the next decade could lead to a 30% increase in the load demand on the electricity supply in Ireland, putting pressure on a system that is already struggling to meet generation demand as we switch off fossil fuel burning power plants, like those in the Midlands, with Moneypoint set to follow suit. However, the renewable energy generation capacity is not coming on stream fast enough to meet this switch off and increased demand levels. Once again, NIMBY-ism is one of the key reasons to blame for this. For instance, the North-South interconnector between the Republic and Northern Ireland has widespread support as a much-needed piece of infrastructure on this island, so much so that even the DUP are behind it. Nevertheless, fierce local opposition to the routing of the connector through the likes of Meath and Louth has seen this project stall for the guts of a decade as our supply options have dwindled. If we are serious about both a greener and digital future, wind and solar generation will need less delays, as will projects like the

interconnector, in order to ensure energy supply into the future. As Gerard Howlin put in on a radio interview recently, ‘Ireland is the Saudi Arabia of Europe when it come to renewable energy potential’, yet we are painfully slow to realise that potential, usually due to misguided opposition, often based on spurious claims. Take the data centre for instance. One claim I saw was that it would require 1 million litres of fresh water every day. This is utter divorced from reality. From a point of view of hydrology alone, just a system to move 1 million litres every day would be monumental. The system may need 1 million litres but, much like a radiator system, once it is filled, it is then circulated within the system on an ongoing basis. The centre should come with conditions of self-sufficient renewable energy generation, via solar and/or wind power, and an option to sell that to the grid even. However, let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face. Otherwise, when we ask other countries to make cuts, they will scoff and point to our objections to highlight the fact that, underneath it all, we aren’t serious about climate change on a global scale at all.

The EU’s Future Have your say!

Visit the Conference on the Future of the EU website

Billy

Kelleher

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

Arts & Entertainment 15

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Clare Sands to take audience on musical voyage at glór PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

GROUND-BREAKING evening of music has been promised to kick off November at glór which features Clare Sands, Steve Cooney and Liadain Ní Bhraonáin. For this once-off concert, sixth generation feisty fiddler and bilingual singer Clare Sands will take audiences on a musical voyage through uncharted territories. Weaving soundscapes through story and song, Clare will play unreleased material from her forth-

coming self-titled album of pulsating Folk music as well as new traditional compositions alongside guitarist Steve Cooney and visual artist Liadain Ní Bhraonáin. Clare Sands was appointed musician in residence for Resonate, a new music residency collaboration between Music Network and glór which is taking place between August and November. This major new initiative provides funding, space provision and technical support to support the making of new work and creative partnerships. Clare and her collaborators have been creating new material to premiere at this concert as a culmination of their development process at glór.

 FIESTY: Steve Cooney and Clare Sands

A unique force in Irish music, fiddler, singer-songwriter, and

multi-instrumentalist Clare is recognised for her style, passionate

performances and infinite musical energy. Exploring what lies between the contemporary and the traditional, her pulsating folk music is infused with influences from around the world. A previous awardee of the Arts Council’s Traditional Arts Bursary, Clare is currently working on her self-titled album which explores her deep love of traditional music and the Irish language, whilst reimagining Irish folk music today. glór is one of six venues across the country working with Music Network to support artists and development of new music in this way with support from The Arts Council.

I trust the quiet - a new exhibition by Cecilia Danell by ELAINE TUBRIDY

 SOLITUDE: The title of the exhibition was chosen to reflect a time of introspection

BURREN College of Art is set to welcome the public to the opening reception for I Trust the Quiet - an exhibition of new work by Cecilia Danell - on Thursday, October 28 from 6-8pm with an Artist's Conversation with gallerist, Kevin Kavanagh, at 7pm. Cecilia Danell (b.1985) is a Swedish artist based in Galway. Her practice is process based, where accumulated research into landscape and the psychology of place is coupled with a strong interest in materiality and making. For the past 10 years, Danell has returned to her family farm in Sweden to walk and gather research material for paintings. This experience of being in the landscape, along with the physical process of painting in the studio, results in works that detach themselves from the photographic source material. Danell began this body of work while on residency at Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris in early 2020 and continued through the pandemic. The title ‘I Trust the Quiet’ was chosen to reflect a time of introspection and enforced solitude, where quietness has resulted in a focused engagement with painting, while the depicted winter landscape has come to represent that sense of stillness. The par-

allel reading of classic sci-fi and speculative fiction novels have also inspired this recent work, as what strikes her about these novels is humanity’s ability to persevere and adapt in adverse circumstances. The human urge to find solace in a primeval landscape grows increasingly stronger amidst the uncertainty of our current condition. Yet wilderness is for the most part a construct and the places she depicts are managed forest landscapes. Cecilia was a 2017 recipient of the Arts Council Next Generation Award and has received several Arts Council Bursaries and Project Awards as well as the ESB Keating Award at the 190th RHA Annual Exhibition (2020), the Wexford Arts Centre Emergence Award (2011) and she is on the current shortlist for the Hennessy Craig Award at the RHA. Her work is in several public collections including the Arts Council, Trinity College, Galway City Council, Wexford County Council, Motala Municipal Council, Sweden and the Office of Public Works as well as private collections in Ireland, UK, Sweden, Canada, France and Norway. Cecilia Danell is represented by Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin.

https://www.burrencollege.ie/i-trust-thequiet

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

in association with

‘She well deserved it’ - portrait of late Laura Brennan unveiled at RCPI PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

PORTRAIT dedicated to the late Laura Brennan has been unveiled at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. Ennis native Laura died from cervical cancer at the age of 26 and is remembered as one of the most high-profile health advocates in the country. Her efforts led a surge in the uptake of the HPV vaccine, a campaign that has been continued by her family since her death in March 2019. Her painting is to be hung at the RCPI. It is the college’s way of

recognising those who have had a lasting impact on Irish medicine and healthcare. The painting is the latest in a collection spanning 300 years and includes 95 portraits. Laura is the only non-doctor to adorn the walls and she is just the third female to be honoured with a portrait alongside medic and activist Kathleen Lynn, and the current President of the RCPI, Prof Mary Horgan. “I was very tearful when I saw it first,” Laura’s mother Bernie said. “We’re so so honoured the RCPI would do a portrait in Laura’s

honour. And at the same time, we think she well deserved it”. The Brennan family travelled from Ennis to the RCPI for the unveiling. Prof Hogan agreed that Laura was a worthy addition. ‘’Her contribution and legacy will be felt in decades to come. Laura was somebody who, despite her illness and disease, advocated for the HPV vaccine and nearly single-handedly turned the tide on the huge drop to bring it up to where it is now to 80 per cent.’’ According to Laura’s brother, Kevin it is “tremendous honour” to see a portrait of his late sister gracing the walls of the RCPI. He paid tribute to artist Catherine Creaney who he said “captured Laura at her best”.

REMEMBERING LAURA: The portrait of Laura Brennan is admired by her parents Bernie and Larry

Two former Ennis students get top jobs in Defence Forces FUEL SPECIALISTS IN Kiln Dried Timber, Wood Pellets, Ecologs & Smokeless Fuel

by STUART HOLLY TWO former Ennis students have been appointed to two of the top roles in the Defence Forces on the same day. Ennis native, Major General Adrian Ó Murchú has been appointed the Defence Forces Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) while Lieutenant General Seán Clancy has been appointed as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. General Ó Murchú joined the Permanent Defence Forces in 1982 as a member of the 59th Cadet Class. Prior to that, he spent several years in the Army Reserve (22nd Infantry Battalion FCA) in his home town of Ennis, where he was a Rice College student. He has served overseas with the UN in South Lebanon, Somalia, Western Sahara, Israel and Syria, and Ivory Coast. General Ó Murchú holds an honours degree in French and English literature from NUIG, is a graduate (with Merit) of the École de Guerre in Paris and has a Masters

LTG: Seán Clancy

MG: Adrian Ó Murchú (with Distinction) in International Liaison and Communication from the University of Westminster. In 2018 he completed an Executive Diploma in Strategy Development and Innovation (with Distinction) at the Smurﬁt Business School in UCD. Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, meanwhile, is a native of Mitchelstown but spent his adolescence attending St Flannan’s in Ennis as a boarder. Lieutenant General Clancy has further links to County Clare as his grandfather was a native of Kilrush. He joined the Irish Defence Forces in 1984 as a cadet and commenced his ﬂight training in 1986. He has spent a considerable period of his career as a Search and Rescue pilot and was the commander of the crew who received the Marine Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002. He has served for a year with the European Union Force in Bosnia as the military advisor to the Force Commander and spent two years as a non-permanent member of SHIRBRIG, the UN standby Brigade.

NEWS 17

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

SHANNON NEWS in association with

Plans for Town Park must be fulﬁlled PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

ALLS to install exercise equipment at Shannon Town Park are to be explored. Shannon Town Park opened in November 2019 at a cost of €1.5m and offered a much sought after outdoor recreation amenity for the locality while acting as a link between its residential and commercial centres. Original plans had included exercise equipment, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) told a recent meeting of the Shan-

non Municipal District. She appealed to the local authority to find the funding to back up this commitment. “It was an original plan in the park, it would be nice to see it brought to fruition”. She stated, “This type of outdoor exercise equipment has been successful in other areas and we have noted that they have also helped the mental health and wellbeing of those using them particularly during lockdown”. Options around the provision of the equipment are to be investigated by the Shannon MD office, senior executive engineer Tom Mellett outlined. Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) seconded the motion.

IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY

FIRE: A major emergency crash exercise is carried out at Shannon Airport Photo by Arthur Ellis

Shannon storm drainage network to be improved by PÁRAIC McMAHON DRAIN contractors are targetting areas in Shannon across the month of October in response to concerns regarding the storm drainage network in the town. Efforts to rectify the network needed to be accelerated at Bóthar na Luachra, Lisin, The Grove, the Gort Rd and Corrib Drive across Shannon, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) detailed as he called on Clare County Council to complete the works. “Over recent years, a considerable amount of surface water is occurring on a

number of locations in Shannon and the network needs to be improved,” he flagged. Flynn’s proposal was seconded by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF). CCTV and jetting at the locations identiﬁed was to be organised, senior executive engineer Tom Mellett stated in response. “We intend to dedicate a crew in support of a drain contractor for approximately four weeks commencing in October”. Flynn was pleased to receive the commitments, “some of the system is damaged and some of it is backed up with silt”.

ROAD SAFETY: Works underway in Shannon

Photo by Joe Buckley

NEWS 25

THURSDAY, APR 29 2020

SHANNON IN FOCUS THURSDAY, APR 29 2021 THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Shannon Springs look to the future following €2.5m refurbishment STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

HE four star Shannon Springs Hotel has successfully navigated a turbulent 18 months by emerging with a larger staff-base along with a completed €2.5million refurbishment, for which they have received a national award nomination. The renovation, which was led by interior design studio Millimetre Design, sees a complete refurbished reception area, 17 new guest bedrooms, meeting room facility along with the addition of a small ﬁtness room. Every guest room now has air conditioning, a feature which is unique to any hotel in the area. It continues a trend of continued evolution at Shannon Springs since co-owners Dermot Kelly and John Gavin took over six years ago, graduating the establishment from a twostar to the renowned four-star rating it now holds – and the pair now have their eyes on growing their higher-end corporate clientele following this latest refurbishment. The hotel’s Old Lodge Gastro Pub has also retained its AA Rosette national award for the fourth year running. John told The Clare Echo, “The feedback on the rooms and reception area has been really, really positive. Even from returning guests who would have known the hotel pre-upgrade, they are blown away by the level of detail in the up-

FIT OUT: John Gavin and Dermot Kelly pictured outside the Shannon Springs Hotel Photo Joe Buckley grade. I only found out this morning that we’ve been shortlisted in the Fit Out Awards 2021 in the hospitality category so that’s been really positive.”

Begin a career in aviation with IAC

INTERNATIONAL Aerospace Coatings is the global leader in aircraft painting, interiors and graphics. With 11 state-of-the-art facilities across the USA and Europe, IAC has capacity for 36 lines of aircraft and processes 1000+ paint events per year. IAC works in all segments of the aviation industry, including OEM, commercial, military, and general aviation. Its European headquarters are based in Shannon, County Clare. IAC/LCETB Traineeship Graduation The latest group of new graduates successfully passed through the IAC traineeship in Shannon this week. Eleven successful candidates graduated through the program with all of these graduates being offered full time positions within the company. The current class is the sixth group that have passed through the IAC program in the last 4 years which has proved to be a real success. The program is an intensive course run in conjunction with the LCETB which involves many different aspects of the aircraft painting process and offers can-

It’s a unique situation that Shannon Springs find themselves in having grown their operation over the last two years where others are trying to cut costs. Dermot added that Shannon Springs now employs in the region of 74 people, which signifies a 20 per cent increase from pre-Covid levels. While acknowledging that future projections are dependent on developments in global trends, they are hopeful that a continued strong domestic market paired with an increase in international visitor will stabilise the industry in 2022. John explains, “The summer was very strong from the domestic market. There’s more tourists travelling now, we see people from the UK, a few from Europe. Business is quite strong but it wouldn’t be at 2019 levels yet. It’s very dependent on what happens in Europe and in the US in particular, next summer should tell.” The pair are also very optimistic for the future of the region’s key economic driver, Shannon Airport, following the appointment of its new chairman Pádraig Ó Céidigh. Dermot explains, “Ryanair have a good number of flights out of Shannon each week so there is a certain amount that we are seeing from ‘stay, park and fly’ packages. There are Irish people taking that opportunity to go abroad and we’re seeing some benefit from that as are other hotels here in the region.” He expands that while there have been challenges across the industry with attracting skilled labour in recent months, they are encouraged by this week’s announcement of the easing of restrictions which will see a return to normal trading hours, along with supports that will continue into next year such as the EWSS. While John is a former student of the Shannon College of Hotel Management, a continuation of strong relationships here may help Shannon Springs remain ahead of the curve on attracting skilled talent. For now though, the pair are just excited for what lays ahead. “We’re very happy with where we’re at,” says John. “Obviously if we could take away Covid, we would be a lot happier but we’re very happy and thankful to those people who have supported us both in our local community and further afield.”

IAC is the global leader in aircraft painting, interiors and graphics

didates a real opportunity to learn practical skills in our Shannon aircraft hangar. Many of these new graduates will become vital team members within our company potentially progressing to leadership positions such as team leaders and graphic designers. The next training course will start in May 2021 and we are currently accepting applicants. No previous painting experience is required to apply for this training programme. We are also accepting direct entry applicants for full time employment with any previous domestic or industry related painting experience. All enquiries and applicants can send their CV and details to careers@iac.aero.

The picture above shows the successful graduates along with John Mulqueen (IAC), Scott Helm (IAC), James Power (LCETB), Seamus O’Riain (LCETB ) and Emily Sammon (FRS training).

European Headquarters East Ramp, Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)61 471 800

NEWS 25

THURSDAY, APR 29 2020

SHANNON IN FOCUS

THURSDAY, APR 29 2021 THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Begin a career in aviation with IAC

IAC is the global leader in aircraft painting, interiors and graphics

SSH: The newly refurbished Shannon Springs Hotel

The picture above shows the successful graduates along with John Mulqueen (IAC), Scott Helm (IAC), James Power (LCETB), Seamus O’Riain (LCETB ) and Emily Sammon (FRS training).

European Headquarters East Ramp, Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)61 471 800

NEWS 25

THURSDAY, APR 29 2020

SHANNON IN FOCUS

THURSDAY, APR 29 2021 THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Upskilling and Reskilling are Keys to New Employment Opportunities

ITH a wide range of courses on offer from Shannon Chamber Skillnet, now is the ideal time to avail of the opportunity to upskill, through taking on new learning or to reskill, through upgrading existing skill sets. That’s the advice from Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes who has seen an increasing number of people from Shannon and the wider region registering for Skillnet courses over the past year. “All of the courses we offer through the Skills Connect programme are free to people who are in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). As most training available through these initiatives is of short duration or part-time, recipients may continue to receive the PUP. However, once recipients identify the speciﬁc training programme that they wish to undertake, they must check their eligibility to retain the PUP with their Intreo ofﬁce. “Whilst there are eligibility criteria for qualifying for free access to the training programme, they are very extensive and can include former sole traders and business

owners, recent graduates who are unemployed, homemakers, retirees seeking to return to the workplace, individuals who fail to qualify for social welfare payments because of a spouse’s income, individuals signing on for credits but in receipt of no social welfare payment, individuals who have recently accepted redundancy payments and so many more instances. Our network manager, Claire Quinn, will be happy to discuss eligibility with anyone wishing to avail of the training. Claire can be contacted at cquinn@shannonchamber.ie “The free online training programmes offered via Skills Connect are most valuable to job seekers looking for new jobs and careers. They offer individuals the opportunity to develop new skills or reskill and build their conﬁdence. With many companies in the region now taking on new hires, it was never more opportune to consider this type of training to enhance employment prospects, “ added Ms Downes. Further details on all Shannon Chamber Skillnet is available at www.shannonchamber.ie/events-training/

Begin a career in aviation with IAC

TRAINING: Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes

encourages people seeking new employment to avail of Skills Connect free training programmes

IAC is the global leader in aircraft painting, interiors and graphics

The picture above shows the successful graduates along with John Mulqueen (IAC), Scott Helm (IAC), James Power (LCETB), Seamus O’Riain (LCETB ) and Emily Sammon (FRS training).

European Headquarters East Ramp, Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)61 471 800

NEWS 25

THURSDAY, APR 29 2020

SHANNON IN FOCUS

THURSDAY, APR 29 2021 THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

HAPPY DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY

CONGRATS: Element Six are celebrating 60 years of business in Shannon. Pictured are Mary Lynch,Vikki Matthews, Walter Hühn, Kalle Hildebrand, Mary Buckley, Siobhán Duffy, and Stephen Linnane

Coming s n to Sha on Any 12 Sliotars: €45

Begin a career in aviation with IAC

Golf/Sports Net 7ft x 7ft €90.00 Steel GAA Goals 10ft wide €145.00

IAC is the global leader in aircraft painting, interiors and graphics

Home Darts Set €115

Kids Hurling Set €25

Basketball Stand €95.00

Smithstown, Shannon Tel: 061 364750

Email: info@borusports.ie

The picture above shows the success-

EuropeanDeadline Headquartersfor Corporate Gifting: Nov. 22th ful graduatesNov. along 10th with John Mulqueen Deadline for bulk Xmas orders: (IAC), Scott Helm (IAC), James Power East Ramp, Shannon Airport, (LCETB),Clearance Seamus O’Riain (LCETB ) and Check out our Sportswear oﬀers on borusports.ie Shop Open Mon-FriTel: 9:30 - 5:30 Co. Clare, Ireland +353 (0)61 471 800

Emily Sammon (FRS training).

22 FEATURES

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

GREEN CLARE

Public urged not to engage in illegal activity over Halloween STUART HOLLY

editor@clareecho.ie

LARE County Council and Clare County Fire and Rescue Service are urging members of the public and businesses not to supply any waste material to persons who do not hold a valid waste collection permit. The call comes in advance of the Halloween period, which traditionally has been used by some people to illegally dispose of waste material on bonfires. The uncontrolled burning of waste, particularly in bonfires, is illegal and releases toxic pollutants into the air, which are known to be damaging to our health and environment. Burning of waste in this manner is illegal under the Air Pollution Act, 1987, and the Waste Management Acts, 1996-2008. Bonfires are often built close to houses and other property, presenting risks to personal safety and property. “Halloween is one the busiest times of the year for the fire services and responding to bonfire call outs creates a strain on existing resources. I would like people to be aware of the fire safety hazards that arise from illegal bonfires, where the burning of highly combustible materials may lead to serious inju-

ries or death,” said Adrian Kelly, Clare Chief Fire Officer. “Unfortunately, we have experienced anti-social behaviour on a small number of occasions when attending these fires – I would appeal to people to respect the role of the firefighters in this regard and let them carry out their duty in a safe manner,” he added. Members of the public are also advised not to buy, use or supply fireworks. “Illegal fireworks may be manufactured without safety standards and can cause serious damage to users, particularly children. Parents should monitor their children and ensure they do not play with fireworks. Throughout the country, every year, children end up tragically injured and often scarred for life, after using illegal fireworks,” said a spokesperson for Clare County Council. In the period before and during Halloween, County Council and Clare County Fire and Rescue Service will be assisted by An Garda Síochána to closely monitor the situation around the county. According to Carmel Kirby, Director of Physical Development, Clare County Council: “Businesses and members of the public are requested to desist from supplying any waste material to persons who do not have a valid waste collection permit. Dealing with waste material on any other basis is an of-

DANGEROUS: Halloween bonﬁres can cause serious injury and damage

fence and can result in prosecution. “There are significant risks arising from such bonfires, including the illegal nature of the activity, the adverse effects on the members of the local community, not to mention the negative effects on the general environment.” Clare County Council are requesting the

public to report any sightings of material such as pallets, tyres, old furniture or other combustible materials or waste being hoarded in advance of Halloween.

Contact Clare County Council’s waste enforcement section on enviroff@clarecoco.ie, 065-6846331 or visit www.clarecoco.ie

NEWS 23

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

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his Bank Holiday weekend North Clare will be celebrating the annual harvest during the Burren Food Fayre www.burren.ie and the unusual farming traditions of the Burren during the Winterage Festival www.burrenwinterage.com . Both provide an opportunity to celebrate our local food and the people who produce it. Ireland’s rural food tradition has long been associated with potatoes, bacon and cabbage, lamb or beef stew and fish on Fridays. In the last decades our food has evolved into a much more sophisticated offering, under the influence of awardwinning chefs, restaurants and food producers. Clare Pre Abbey pandemic, the Burren Food Fayre provided at an opportunity food The abbey Clarecastleforwas producers from all over Clare to show their founded by Donal Mór O’Brien in wares and to see cooking demonstrations 1189. parts ofby the single-aisled usingSome local produce well known chefs church date back to the 12th century, at the Pavillion in Lisdoonvarna. It was a and are also chapels and greatthere opportunity fortwo locals and visitors taste and stock on local cheese, ato tower from theup15th century. In fish, meat, ice cream, chocolates, honey, 1278, the monastery was the site of sea grass, and fermented ajams, massacre dueforaged to friction among foods, flavoured vinegars, artisan roasted the various factions of themore O’Brien coffee, beer and whiskey… than family. enough to satisfy the most seasoned of foodies, and we all look forward to its return! This year, theand Food Fayre goes Kilfenora Cathedral Crosses on-line and provides food experiences Cathedral is North dedicated atKilfenora various locations around Clare. to St. can Fachtna, who These be booked at founded his monastery during century. www.burren.ie, andthe thissixth website also provides a showcase for the awardThe original church was probably winning Burren Trail structure people and wooden. The Food present their offerings. dates from between 1189 to 1200. Burren Dinners is asome publication The Cathedral contains fine that focuses on the quality of the food on carvings on Clare. grave Itslabs, windows offer in North provides a range and doorways. of recipes created byKilfenora people whoalso live boasts one most signifi cant and work in of the the region. Again, you can purchase this book concentrations ofdirectly high from crosses in www.burren.ie or from bookstores. Ireland, including thelocal famed “Doorty Watch out for the Burren Slow Food Cross”. Festival in Spring each year, again celebrating local food, traditional cooking and the all-important rituals around the sharing of food. This festival highlights the importance of taking the time to gather and enjoy.

SEA FOOD

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher was designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015 www.burrengeopark.ie , one of three such places in Ireland and 169 in the world. UNESCO is championing a global quality food brand and platform; UNESCO GEOfood, for quality local food produced in UNESCO Global Geoparks and the stories surrounding the geological conditions, heritage, biodiversity and cultural significance of local food. It is no accident that the Burren has always been known as ‘the fertile rock’! GEOfood promotes local quality foods and supply chains, sustainable production methods and a Poulnabrone higher value return for the producer. This is growing movement across the globe and is linked directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark is working with the Burren Food Trail to apply this brand in North Clare.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

www.VisitClare.ie

G O AT S S AY C H E E S E

AT T E N T I O N TO D E TA I L

24 FEATURES

A simple prayer

RONAN SCULLY

Thought for the week

PRAYER takes just a matter of seconds to utter, but its influence on our lives can be permanent. I apply the following phrase to the process of my prayer life. ‘A moment on our lips is a lifetime on our souls.’ A simple prayer can change us; can lead us on the path to healing ourselves and our world.

A prayer for others

All people of faith struggle at times to maintain a meaningful prayer life, a loss felt all the more keenly in times like ours of confusion, political turbulence, injustices of all sorts and global calamity. Prayer is not a passive activity. Prayer awakens us. Our eyes begin to notice beauty where we never noticed it before. Our hearts begin to feel compassion, forgiveness and mercy we never knew we had. Our priorities shift. As we talk to God, we receive the encouragement to live up to the potential inside us. Soon we start to see beyond ourselves into the world that is waiting for our help. I believe God is listening. And I believe God answers us. God’s answer to our prayers may be very different from the answer we were searching for. God’s reply might come as the strength to fight on. It may come as the courage to face what we have feared. God’s answer may be the ability to accept what we have been denying. Or it may appear as hope in the face of despair. We are not alone. God is present in our lives. When we stop bargaining with God and start opening up our souls to God, our prayers suddenly start working. We can pray for strength and receive strength. Prayer is ultimately an experience, not a request. It is a sense of being connected, of being part of something larger than ourselves. It is an attempt to be in the presence of God. My prayer for you is that you may always rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray with many. Pray often. God will listen, if you only speak. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance. Search for yourself, be yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you but no one can walk it for you. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best beds and treat them with respect and honour. Do not take what is not yours

whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. If it was not earned or given, it’s not yours. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it’s person, animal or plant. Honour other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or bully or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the world will multiply when it returns to you. All people make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practise optimism. Nature is not for us, it is a part of us. They are part of your worldly family. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow. Avoid hurting the hearts of others, especially those of children. The poison of your pain will return to you. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one's will within this world. Keep yourself balanced. Your mental self, spiritual self, emotional self, and physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ailments. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first. Respect others beliefs. Do not force your belief on others. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week may I offer up this comfort blessing or a prayer of mine for you the reader on your life's journey that you may see the light in the darkness during these challenging times! May you feel the loving presence of those who hold you in their thoughts and prayers! May your spirit find what it needs to sustain you on this journey of life! May you discover your inner strength and face all difficulties with dignity and grace. May you be filled with comfort, love, acceptance, strength, grace and a lasting sense of peace! May the light of your soul guide you. May the light of your soul bless the work that you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart. May

you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul. May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work. May your work never weary you. May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement. May you be present in what you do. May you never become lost in bland absences. May the day never burden. May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises. May evening find you gracious and fulfilled. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected. May your soul calm, console and renew you. May there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two; May the sun always shine on your windowpane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you, Falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul. With the sweetness of little flowers newly blooming. May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you, Carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean. Sparkling after in the sunlight. May the blessing of God's earth be on you, And as you walk the roads, May you always have a kind word for those you meet. May joy and peace surround you, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now and bless you evermore! May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart. May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love now and always. I also pray for us all to have the power to be gentle, loving, kind and caring to one another and to ourselves; the strength to be forgiving and be forgiven; the patience to be understanding and compassionate and merciful; and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right and good and peaceful. May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred. Also Some friends and family asked me to light a candle for them recently and some friends and family are in need of a prayer and candle at this moment especially any of you that are unwell or ill or in hospital or suffered an accident or a loss or some who are having worrying times with family and financial problems and for some who are lacking peace and mercy in their lives. For them and for all of us I offer up my prayers and candle through this thought for the week and especially for peace in all our lives and in our families and in our world. Amen.

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Fr Murphy memorial unveiled in Coroﬁn

HERITAGE: Scoil Mhuire Naisiúnta pupils with their teachers Myra Shannon and Hugh Healy perform at the unveiling ceremony

ELAINE TUBRIDY elaine.tubridy@clareecho.ie

T A well attended unveiling ceremony held in Corofin on Sunday last Dr Maccon Macnamara, President of Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne officially unveiled the Fr. Murphy and 40 Shilling Freeholders Memorial at the Creamery Cross. Dr Macnamara praised the actions of Fr Murphy in seeking to extend equal rights to members of the Catholic Faith and said that his actions as one of the leaders in the efforts to elect Daniel O’Connell, in the famous Clare Election of 1828, deserve to be remembered. Fr Murphy, a Newmarket on Fergus native, served as Parish Priest in Corofin from 1818 to 1831 and proved his dynamism by building a church in the village in 1822, opening badly needed schools and standing up to a political system which allowed for discrimination against a very significant proportion of the population. When Fr Murphy suffered an untimely death at the young age of 42 he was attended during his final illness by Dr Michael Macnamara, the great grandfather of Dr Maccon. Cathaoirleach of Cumann Staire is Dúchais, Declan

Kelleher noted that "great courage was shown by the 40 shilling freeholders of the day in opposing their landlords’ instructions and voting for Daniel O’Connell despite the threat of evictions in certain cases". Leas-Chathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Mr Joe Killeen commented that Corofin Village was now a village on the march, facing the future with confidence and taking on new challenges in terms of the use of heritage shopfronts, newly planned painted streetscapes and a greater environmental awareness. "The energy shown by Fr Murphy in his peaceful political campaigns could well be replicated nowadays in bringing about a new and vibrant village," Mr Killeen stated. Ms Carmel Tierney of Kilnaboy Youth Club and Ms Rachel Louise Toone of Scoil Mhuire Náisiúnta outlined the story of Fr Murphy and his promotion of peaceful means as the only acceptable way of bringing about political change. Ms Roisín Neylon thanked the parishioners for their generous financial support and also thanked Clare County Council for their grant aid. The monument was blessed by Rev Damien Nolan and music for the occasion was supplied by pupils of Scoil Mhuire Náisiúnta.

Green area may be reduced for parking REPEATED calls for increased parking in Newmarket-on-Fergus have been made, writes Páraic McMahon. Cutting into the green area outside Glencragga has been suggested as one potential way to increase the amount of parking for residents in the estate. Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) submitted a motion to the Shannon Municipal District asking for the provision of additional parking “due to inadequate parking spaces”.

“Limited options” exist when it comes to securing additional spaces, senior executive engineer Tom Mellett responded. “It would require a setback from the road edge into the green area to achieve any substantial gain for parking, this would not achieve parking in the immediate vicinity of houses 1 through 12. Further engagement with the local community would be required before implementing any changes”.

COMMUNITY 25

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Community KILMIHIL

CONTACT

NEWSDESK 065 671 9021 news@clareecho.ie

ENNIS

COFFEE MORNING

THANK you to everyone who donated to the Bewley’s coffee morning recently in Shyan. A total of €2298 was raised and every penny will go directly to Cahercalla Community Hospice and Nursing Home.

CLARECASTLE WHEN IN DOUBT, PEDAL IT OUT

THE brakes were pulled on the annual “When In Doubt, Pedal It Out” mental health awareness cycle last year due to Covid 19 but thankfully it’s all systems go as cyclists will take to the roads of Clare on this coming Sunday, October 24th. The event is being based out of the Clarecastle GAA facility and will depart @10am sharp and will take in parts of Clarecastle, Newmarket on Fergus, Shannon, Quin and Doora Bareﬁeld parishes. One of the organising committee, Paul Murphy, is thrilled at the prospect of the event hitting the road again following last year’s enforced hiatus and said,”It’s fantastic that we are in a position to run the event this year and all of the committee are really looking forward to Sunday. Registration for Sunday’s event costs 10 for Cycling Ireland members and 20 for non Cycling Ireland members and can be completed through a link on our Facebook page”, Paul concluded.

CÉIM AR CHÉIM: Transition year students in Gaelcholaiste an Chláir are all set to take on their Gaisce activity challenge under the guidance of their teacher Iníon ní Dheargáin with the support of Ennis Electrical who have sponsored each student with a personal ﬁtbit so they can track their active steps. Pictured are Principal Brian O Donoghue, Students, Abdelrahman Liani, Blathneid Fertear, Eoghan O Cleirigh, Eric Flynn (Ennis Electrical) Niamh Van Wilpe, Conor O hUiginn, Muireann Nic Craith, Iníon de Barra (Maths teacher)

TULLA First Year 2022

SEAT FOR LIFE: Tulla GAA Club have commenced construction of a Sports Pavilion and Viewing Stand at Dr Daly Memorial park – and is offering for people to have their names inscribed on a seat forever. The modern facility consists of an 860 seater viewing stand, gym, meeting rooms, medical treatment room, press commentary box, kitchen/ canteen, changing rooms and toilets.To ﬁnance the facility, Tulla GAA Club is organising a ‘Seat for Life’ fundraiser. Each seat costs €100.00. Further details are available from any Club Ofﬁcer, Coach or Player. Purchase online https://tullagaa.clubzap.com/products/5129/purchases/new

KILRUSH RESILIENCE WORKSHOP

WEST Clare Mental Health Association in partnership with Mid-West Aries are delighted to announce details of a forthcoming Free Workshop on Resilience to be held in The Lighthouse Peer Support Centre in Kilrush. Spaces are limited and booking is required. Email westclaremha@mentalhealthireland.ie or phone James Fennelly on 086 6043473 for more information.

http://www.harmonyrowcampus.com

for fifth and sixth year students, their parents and guardians Ennis Community College Live Virtual Open Night will be live on November the 4th at 6.45pm and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir live Virtual Open Night will be live at 8pm.

26 COLUMNIST

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

SWEET TOOTH FUDGE

Kearney Cooks

HAVE a small bit of a sweet tooth and I love a good chocolate treat (or six) . However recently I have been on a small bit of a diet, and have been very careful about what I eat during the day. But when it came to the night time , I would get an awful case of the munchies (not the Cheech and Chong kind). My way of combating these munchies has been to make myself a little box of sweet treats, and allow myself one or two at night time, thus easing the sweet craving without destroying the calorie count. One of the sweet treats I make sometimes is chocolate fudge. Now normally fudge is a super complicated recipe, but a few years ago a friend gave me this super simple way to make it and honestly it works a treat. YOU WILL NEED: • 1 tin of condensed milk • 450g of your favourite chocolate Step 1 Bung your chocolate and condensed milk into a bowl. Place that bowl over a pot of boiling water and keep stirring until the two are combined. Step 2 Line a small casserole dish, 8 inch cake tin or something along those

lines with greased parchment paper and pour your mixture in and flatten it out. Leave to cool for at least two hours. Step 3 Turn out your cooled fudge mix, trim the sides and cut into 1 inch squares . This fudge can be frozen and defrosted as you need it so no need to eat it all at once. Also this recipe works well with any kind of chocolate, such as milk, dark

or white. You can also add in loads of cool flavours such as nuts, raisins or even chillies. Keep an eye out to The Clare Echo Facebook page for the instructional video that goes with this recipe or check out my Instagram @stevekearney37 where I share the video every weekend.

Enjoy

Steve K

With

With With

In this week’s column, Joe Melody reﬂects on the best Autumn in recent memory for grass growth

UTUMN 2021 will be remembered as the best autumn in recent memory for grass growth however even with that said we are transitioning the dairy herd from a diet of grass and three kilograms of meal to a diet that by next week will be a trio made up of grass, silage and meal. We began closing the farm in early October but it has become obvious in recent years that with the advent of new grass swards and better soil fertility we can push that date out by a paltry few days. The value of grass this time of the year is at its lowest so everything we do now is with eyes on next spring and hopefully getting our freshly calved cows straight to grass in early February. We indeed are on the slow wind down of grazing with the dairy herd, we are hope-

ful still to keep them at grass into the first week of November. On the other hand our pasture fed hen flock will be grazing right through the winter as they graze all year round. This takes a bit of planning and as always the key is to keep the hens moved regularly to fresh grass. The sward they are grazing in today is rich in clover and they love nibbling on it. We find that the hens have a preference for a nice leafy, low sward that is high in quality grass. They can be seen scattered across the pasture grazing the sward, the benefits to the hen are manifold. She is getting grass that is natural and chemical free into her system which promotes longevity for her as she is expressing her natural tendency to roam and graze. Our humble hen also is getting huge

The Melody hens

amounts of vitamin D from the sun as she grazes which not only benefits her but us also when we eat those pasture raised eggs. Hens have a love for the variety within a sward and as our hen’s pastures are chemical free, varieties such as plantain proliferate in the sward, this leafy plant often considered by many as a weed contains high levels of vitamin A and C. It has proven itself as a strong preventative of coccidiosis in hens and has been shown to enhance immune function in animals that digest it. We are in the process of installing two large sand boxes for our hens to roll around in and dust bathe. Hens need to dust bathe and they do so

frequently in nature. This is how they keep themselves free of external parasites that can cause all sort of maladies to their health as well as destroying their lovely feathers. This is all part of giving the hen every chance to express herself fully. A recent win by fellow parishioners Jim and Brian O’ Leary in the large category of this year’s Irish Charolais Cattle Society Suckler Herds Competition was a reminder of the suckler cow’s prominence in the county. It was a fitting tribute to what can be achieved with hard work and attention to detail in an industry that often faces negative headwinds.

BUSINESS & RECRUITMENT 27

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

BUSINESS AND RECRUITMENT

Element Six celebrates 60 years operating in Shannon STUART HOLLY

editor@clareecho.ie

LEMENT Six Limited, a world leader in synthetic diamond super-materials and part of the De Beers Group, is marking 60 years of operations in Shannon, Ireland. First established in 1961, the Element Six Limited facility in Shannon develops and manufactures synthetic diamond solutions supplying global Oil & Gas, Automotive & Aerospace and Mining & Construction industries. Since 2017, the company has invested €16m on the Shannon site and has created 100 jobs in the area, bringing the total number of people employed to over 500. Over the next three years Element Six Limited will embark on further significant infrastructure pro-

grammes aimed at paving the way for the site’s future and improving the overall operational efficiency at its Shannon facility. “Celebrating a sixty-year footprint in Shannon is an amazing achievement. It demonstrates, not just commitment to the area but the ability of the organisation to adapt to the changing circumstances it has encountered over this six-decade timespan,” stated Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes . Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said, “I’d like to congratulate the entire team at Element Six on reaching their diamond anniversary. It’s an incredible milestone and I know the company is proud of its long history in Shannon, employing over 500 people. Thank you for your continued commitment to Ireland and all the best for the next 60 years.”

l CELEBRATION: (l-r) Mary Lynch, HR Manager; Vikki Matthews, Executive Director & Communications; Walter Hühn, CEO, Element Six, Kalle Hildebrand, Executive Director Operations; Mary Buckley, Executive Director, IDA Ireland; Siobhán Duffy, Executive Director; Sales & Marketing, Will Corcoran, Mid-West Regional Manager, IDA and Stephen Linnane, General Manager

Walter Hühn, CEO at Element Six, added “We are thrilled to celebrate this significant milestone – a diamond anniversary, fittingly – with our local and global teams. This is an opportunity to remember the past we

built our foundations upon, but also – crucially - to remain focussed on the road yet to come, our journey into a modern future where sustainability and digital transformation will not be finite projects to complete,

but rather states of perpetual agility, enabling us to dynamically adapt to new market trends and customers’ needs.” He continued: “With that in mind, today marks not only six decades of foster-

ing talent, manufacturing excellence and diamond innovation in Shannon, but also building and nurturing a community that is at the heart of what we do, underpinned by the same values we upheld 60 years ago. Those values are embedded in the DNA of our company and its people, and will continue to be the driving force in ensuring a prosperous future for Element Six”. IDA Ireland’s Executive Director, Mary Buckley also commented “I am delighted to congratulate Element Six on celebrating their 60th Anniversary here in Shannon. Their commitment to the Mid-West Region has been unwavering and is testament to their excellent team, who have greatly contributed to this significant milestone. I’d like to thank Mr. Walter Hühn and Element Six for their commitment to the Mid-West Region and I wish their teams continued success in Shannon.”

Google News Showcase rolls out with Clare Echo among publishers by ELAINE TUBRIDY

GOOGLE News Showcase, the new product experience for news, will begin rolling out with national, regional and local publishers today in Ireland. Showcase provides new ways for readers to access and understand the stories that matter to them. Mediahuis has joined the seven Irish publishers that have signed licensing agreements to participate in Google News Showcase, with The Irish Independent and The Sunday World among the titles being added to the 40 national and regional publications providing content for readers,

which includes The Irish Examiner, Connaught Telegraph, Clare Echo, Donegal Daily, Derry Now, The Irish Times, Irish Mirror, The Journal and more. Backed by a $1billion investment in news around the world, Google News Showcase gives news organisations the ability to curate news content on Google’s News and Discover platforms for their readers, giving better context to stories and connecting readers with the news that matters to them. News Showcase panels display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving publishers more ways to bring news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along

with more direct control of presentation and their branding. People who click on News Showcase panels are sent directly to the publisher’s website to read the full story, driving valuable traffic and enabling publishers to deepen their relationships with readers. As part of licensing agreements with publishers for News Showcase, Google is also paying participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content, giving readers the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to access. “It is an honour for us as a locally-owned, independent publisher

to have partnered with Google News Showcase,” says Stuart Holly, editor of regional newspaper The Clare Echo. “We strive to constantly evolve and by partnering with Google, not only are we further progressing the reader experience but also we are afforded the opportunity to further invest in public interest journalism. I look forward to using the platform myself to navigate my way directly to trustworthy, interesting and interactive news feeds.” Anthony Nakache, Director of Online Partnerships, EMEA, Google, said, “The rollout of Google News Showcase in Ireland represents the next step for Google

and publishers creating a sustainable model for news. We are committed to continuously supporting journalism, and investing in this support, and I’m pleased to see Google News Showcase launch in Ireland with such a high volume of high-calibre publications. Over the coming months, we’ll be working closely with our news partners and taking on board their feedback while also bringing new publishers to the Showcase programme with more publications and content accessible to Irish readers.”

28 BUSINESS & RECRUITMENT

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

Shannon Estuary businesses come together in Bunratty OMMUNITIES from around the Shannon Estuary Way came together last Thursday for a special networking event held at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park as part of the ongoing year-long SEW Destination Development Programme, which commenced last April. This event was the first opportunity for these local communities to come together in one location and build on the relationships created since the programme commenced. The evening was formally opened by Minister Patrick O’Donovan who originally launched the Shannon Estuary Way drive in 2019, and the event was attended by a range of local dignitaries with representation from both businesses and local communities from right around the Shannon Estuary Way. Keynote speaker for the evening was the award winning travel writer Pol O’Conghaile who spoke about the value of the

tourism opportunity on the Shannon Estuary Way and and the importance of adopting a destination mindset approach, highlighting the richness of the Shannon Estuary Way and the advantage that the diverse range of communities has to offer. This second phase of development for the Shannon Estuary Way drive is specifically designed to support the local communities to harvest the rich heritage and history in each of the areas, under the concept of ‘big skies and sheltered waters’ and position the drive as a key tourist offering in the Mid West. The project is a joint initiative between West Limerick Resources and Clare Local Development Company and the programme is being delivered on their behalf by Clare-based tourism consultants, The Tourism Space. Tina O’Dwyer of The Tourism Space added “This destination boasts national flagship attractions as well as a host of hidden gems and experiences waiting to be discovered. It also enjoys significant buy-in from our public representatives and public agencies. It’s wonderful to have such a strong spirit of collaboration emerging

FOOD lovers from all over Ireland are in for a treat this autumn, as the Burren Food Fayre is returning for a series of unique food and farm visitor experiences this October bank holiday weekend. The event, which is organised by the Burren Ecotourism Network, marks its 10th year in operation this year, with a return to in person events. Last year’s event had to be staged virtually. It takes place between October 23rd and October 24th and coincides with the Burren Winterage Festival which celebrates the ancient custom of out-wintering cattle on the upland areas of the Burren, and is organised by Burren

Beo. of Moher UNESCO Global Pre-book different itiner- Geopark. aries, which will take them To find out more and on a food trail across the to book go to: https:// length and breadth of the www.eventbrite.com/d/ Burren. Five different ex2c periences have been created, featuring a variety of differSAFE PASS ent producers. CONFINED SPACE Thanks to our sponsor CHEMICAL AWARENESS Calor Gas and MANUAL HANDLING for the supBus Card_V1.indd 1 02/03/2020 13:33 Venue: port from the B2 Corcanree Business Park, D e p ar t me nt 2d Dock Road, Limerick of Agriculture, Food and the TRAINING & CONSULTANCY SOLUTIONS TO BOOK THESE TRAINING COURSES Marine and www.ambersafety.ie from the Burren and Cliffs or call 061 302520 / 087 3356704

STUART HOLLY

editor@clareecho.ie

from the programme – this lays a really solid platform for the future.” The programme will continue during Autumn/Winter months and build on tourism opportunities for local businesses and com-

munities ahead of the 2022 summer season. Local businesses and communities located on the Shannon Estuary Way, who are not currently participating in the programme are very welcome to join the

training and networking programme for the Autumn and Winter. To register, visit www. thetourismspace.com/sew and for further information on this training programme contact The Tourism Space

at info@thetourismspace. com. Pictured at the Shannon Estuary Way event in Bunratty are Shauna Cunningham (Fáilte Ireland), Aoife Potter-Cogan, (Limerick City & County Council), Tina O’Dwyer (The Tourism Space), Caitriona Scully (West Limerick Resources), Pól O Conghaile

Food lovers in for treat, Burren Food Fayre back this bank weekend

AMBER SAFETY

BUSINESS & RECRUITMENT 29

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

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WE D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

The silver lining T

HE Covid-19 pandemic was a disaster for the wedding industry worldwide. Countless couples were left devastated as their dream day slid away from them, oftentimes more than once. But was it all bad? It deﬁnitely sucked that the economy lost millions and couples were left disappointed, but maybe there is a silver lining in all of it? Gone are the days when you had to invite your neighbour’s cousin just because your dad shared a sandwich with him in the bog once. A smaller guest list means couples get to spend time with the people they care about most, rather than spending the whole day trying to make it around to everyone who came to the wedding, and barely getting to see your new husband/ wife all day because of it. A more intimate wedding also leaves more room for the couple to spend their

wedding budget on things that will bring them the most joy on their wedding day. Steak for dinner? Sure! A cathedral length train on the wedding dress? Why not! It’s the little details that bring the wow factor to a wedding, and more wiggle room in the budget is a deﬁnite plus. Before the pandemic, couples were more likely to stick to traditional aspects of the wedding day. But if the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that life is too short to be throwing the bouquet or spending hours on speeches if you would rather be doing something that’s more your style. So many venues around Ireland have had to make the best of an horrendous situation by giving their outdoor spaces a glow-up. Think twinkling lights, canopies and ﬁre-pits under the stars. An outdoor element to your wedding is a stunning option that will leave your guests rightly impressed.

WEDDINGS 31

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

The perfect place to say

I “ do!” image by Mrs Red Head

You have chosen the partner, chosen the ring, and now it is time to choose the perfect wedding venue which to celebrate your marriage and hold your special day. When it comes to wedding hotels in Clare look no further than the Old Ground Hotel Ennis. The wedding team at The Old Ground Hotel is on hand to share their expertise with couples in the planning stages.

The elegantly refurbished Ballroom combines the warmth of a country house with the luxury of a contemporary Irish hotel, offering soon-to-be brides and grooms a space to rival Ireland’s finest wedding venues. The Lemenagh fireplace, from the Great Hall of Lemenagh Castle, offers a uniquely characteristic photo opportunity amidst this ever historic hotel.

We delight in assisting you with every single task from your seating arrangements and menu choices to the co-ordination of your ideal floral arrangements for the tables. With the assurance of the highest quality cuisine, service and facilities, our dedicated team take care of everything so you can simply relax and enjoy your special day with ease.

Over the years, countless brides and grooms have chosen to let the Flynn Family take care of them on their special day. The team at The Old Ground is committed to making your dream wedding come to life by ensuring every detail is executed to absolute perfection as you celebrate with loved ones and create memories to last a lifetime.

Steeped in history and tradition, the four-star Old Ground Hotel is located in the heart of Ennis and right on the doorstep of the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, The Wild Atlantic Way, and the beautiful Burren. The hotel’s immaculate private gardens provide an enchanting backdrop for a perfect wedding day and those memorable images.

We invite you to celebrate your very special day here with us at the Old Ground. It is our aim to ensure that this most important event will be a happy and memorable one for you and your guests. Choose the Old Ground Hotel Ennis for your wedding venue, with its old world charm and welcoming atmosphere - you’ll be guaranteed a day to remember for both you and your guests.

For more information on our wedding packages please contact our dedicated wedding team on 065 68 28127 or email sales@oldgroundhotel.ie to discuss the range of packages available and arrange a viewing of our Wedding Suite.

WE D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

P icture Perfect Locations for your Wedding P hotography

1 Ballybeg Woods, Ennis:

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

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

2 Cliffs of Moher:

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

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

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

W E D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Hot tips for Clare grooms OUR Mrs to be is more than likely doing most of the wedding planning (and most of them prefer it that way), but there’s no harm in getting yourself prepared for the big day. We’ve got you, grooms. Check off every item on this list and you will be the best husband ever, in their eyes at least.

Buy her a gift

There are the classic gift options such as a nice piece of jewellery, her favourite perfume or lingerie. But we think you need to dig a little deeper here and put some major thought into this. Is there a place/time of year/restaurant etc. that’s special to both of you? Incorporate it into the gift and she will be mighty impressed.

Flowers for the mothers

For the love of all that is holy, do not forget the mothers on your wedding day. Make sure you have a bouquet of ﬂowers to present to your own mother and the mother in law to be. It’s a lovely gesture and to be fair, we would be lost without them.

Grooming for the groom

Fellas generally have it easy when it comes to looking good, as they don’t have to put a huge amount of effort into their appearance. Your wedding day is one occasion where you want to look (and feel) your best, so it won’t hurt to put in a little prep work. Start taking care of your skin regularly before the wedding, step away from the burgers and hit the gym. You will thank us. Also, make sure to get a haircut a couple of days before the big day.

The suit

This is one area where you have (almost) complete control, so make the most of it. Take a trip to Ennis and check out the great men’s boutiques, who will have you kitted out in no time. Two months before the wedding should be plenty of time to get the suit sorted, but the sooner you check it off the list the better.

WE D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Bespoke designs at Vaughans Flower Rooms

T VAUGHANS Garden Centre, we take pride in the fact that our wedding flowers are as individual as our couples. We offer bespoke designs with a focus on personal service and details to ensure your day is as perfect as possible, whether is it a small intimate affair or a large elaborate event. We recently celebrated ‘The Flower Rooms’ first birthday and have been very lucky in that time to have been selected by lots of lovely couples to facilitate their big day. Our Master Florist Luis Da Silva has more than 25 years experience and having formerly worked as course director of McQueens floristry school in London, he has had the opportunity to create for royalty and celebrities alike. He is passionate about providing the perfect floral designs for your special day. Luis will work with you on flower selection, colour combinations and themes to ensure satisfaction and perfection to each couple on their special day.

Ennis Bridal Boutique Best Bridal BoEutique TH

WINNER

85 O’Connell Street, Ennis. Linda - 087 - 210 9800 | www.EnnisBridal.com Ennis Bridal Boutique

WEDDINGS 35

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

“At Vaughans Flower Room we take pride in the fact our wedding flowers are as individual as our couples. we offer bespoke designs that focuses on personal service and the smallest details, ensuring your day is as perfect as it should be whether is a small intimate affair or a large significant production. Luis Da Silva is passionate about providing the perfet floral designs for your special day, Luis will work with you on Flower selection, colour combinations, and themes to ensure complete satisfaction and perfection to each of our couples on their special day”

Gort Road Business Park, Gort Rd, Ennis, Co. Clare (065) 689 3408 | 087 270 4864 www.vaughansgardencentre.com

WE D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Choosing the right veil S O YOU’VE said yes to the dress and shared a glass of bubbly with your gal pals, but don’t hang up the shopping bag just yet. If the wedding gown is the main event, then the veil is the support act. Do not underestimate the power of a veil when it comes to completing your bridal look. There are so many options out there, from a tiny bird’s nest to a stunning cathedral veil. But which one should you choose?

BUDGET

It can be very tempting to blow all of your budget on your dream wedding dress, but make sure you hold enough back for the head piece. Depending on the veil you choose, it can end up costing more than the dress. It will be worth it though, we promise.

HAIRSTYLE

The type of veil you choose will vary wildly depending on the hairstyle you see yourself rocking on your wedding day. A classic updo might result in you wearing your veil pinned at the nape of your neck, while long ﬂowing curls may require you to place the veil higher up.

SEEK ADVICE

If you are not sure where to start, the best thing to do is discuss it with your bridal shop consultant. They deal with these decisions day in, day out and they will be more than happy to help you ﬁnd the right style.

SHOP AROUND

Don’t be afraid to try different types of veils, even if you have your heart set on one particular style. You might surprise yourself by choosing something completely different than what you had intended.

CONSIDER YOUR DRESS

The type of dress you choose will have a huge influence on the style of veil you go for. A simple silhouette could look stunning with an embellished cathedral length veil, but a shorter vintage tea dress might look better with a stylish birdcage.

The Old Ground Hotel

OU have chosen the partner, chosen the ring, and now it is time to choose the perfect wedding venue which to celebrate your marriage and hold your special day. When it comes to wedding hotels in Clare look no further than the Old Ground Hotel Ennis. The wedding team at The Old Ground Hotel is on hand to share their expertise with couples in the planning stages. We delight in assisting you with every single task from your seating arrangements and menu choices to the co-ordination of your ideal floral arrangements for the tables. With the assurance of the highest quality cuisine, service and facilities, our dedicated team take care of everything so you can simply relax and enjoy your special day with ease. Steeped in history and tradition, the four-star Old Ground Hotel is located in the heart of Ennis and right on the doorstep of the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, The Wild Atlantic Way, and the beautiful Burren. The hotel's immaculate private gardens provide an enchanting backdrop for a perfect wedding day and those memorable images. The elegantly refurbished Ballroom combines the warmth of a country house with the luxury of

a contemporary Irish hotel, offering soon-to-be brides and grooms a space to rival Ireland's finest wedding venues. The Lemenagh fireplace, from the Great Hall of Lemenagh Castle, offers a uniquely characteristic photo opportunity amidst this ever historic hotel. Over the years, countless brides and grooms have chosen to let the Flynn Family take care of them on their special day. The team at The Old Ground is committed to making your dream wedding come to life by ensuring every detail is executed to absolute perfection as you celebrate with loved ones and create memories to last a lifetime. We invite you to celebrate your very special day here with us at the Old Ground. It is our aim to ensure that this most important event will be a happy and memorable one for you and your guests. Choose the Old Ground Hotel Ennis for your wedding venue, with its old world charm and welcoming atmosphere - you'll be guaranteed a day to remember for both you and your guests. For more information on our wedding packages please contact our dedicated wedding team on 065 68 28127 or email sales@oldgroundhotel.ie to discuss the range of packages available and arrange a viewing of our Wedding Suite.

the perfect place to say “I do!”

W E D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Get that bridal glow

very bride (and groom) wants to be radiant on their big day, but that wedding glow doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes months of preparation but trust us when we say it will be absolutely worth it when how you look on the outside reﬂects the happiness you will be feeling on the inside. It’s time to up your beauty game, big time.

your radiant sparkle, therefore making your beauty regimen redundant.

Manage stress

Makeup shakeup

It’s true what they say, beauty really does start from within. If you are stressed out of your mind in the weeks and months leading up to the wedding, your skin will suffer for it. You will most likely experience breakouts and your eyes will be drawn and tired looking. Nobody wants that! Stress and anxiety can also prevent you from getting the recommended eight hours shut eye per night. It’s called beauty sleep for a reason, so be sure to make time for winding down before bed.

Show your skin some love

We tend to put lots of time and effort into getting our facial beauty routine just right, but we cannot stress how important it is to look after your body too. It doesn’t need to be complicated, especially if you intend to wear a full length dress. But taking the time to use a gentle cleanser in the shower, exfoliating regularly, patting your skin dry rather than rubbing it with a towel and using body lotion will go a long way to having soft, beautiful skin. Pay special attention to areas that will be exposed like your back and decolletage.

Cut down on the vino

We’ve all had a bad enough wine hangover to know how effective it is at dehydrating the body (and soul, if we’re honest). Drinking too much wine in the run up to the wedding can leave you with broken capillaries, dry skin and will dull

We are all guilty of holding on to that mascara or concealer for way too long, but as the wedding date draws closer, it’s so important to pay attention to the recommended use-by window for your makeup products. Using the same makeup for too long can lead to a buildup of bacteria in the product, which in turn could lead to an infection. Yikes! Go through your makeup and get rid of anything that has been open for too long. A handy tip is to write the date of opening on the product. You can thank us later.

PRICE LIST

WAXING

NICOLE BURNS 14 PARNELL STREET ENNIS

Brow Wax

€10

3 Week Gel Polish

€28

Brow Tint & Wax

€17

Gel Overlays

€30

3 Eyes

€30

Gel Nails

€45

Eyelast Tint

€15

Gel Refills

€35

Lip Wax

€10

Regular File & Polish

€15

Lip & Chin

€15

Removal of Gel Polish

€10

Side of Face

€12

Removal of Gel

€15

Arm Wax

€15

Gel Polish Toes

€25

Under Arm

€15

File & Polish Toes

€15

Lash Lift

€40

Gel Polish Fingers & Toes

€50

Lash Lift & Brows

€50

File & Polish Fingers & Toes

€30

SPRAY TANS

MAKE UP €30

Full Body

Full Make Up with Lashes €35

Half Body

Full Make Up

@nicoleburnsbeauty

NAILS

Bridal Make Up

€50

Bridesmaid Make up

€45

€30 €20

WE D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Step back in time at The Temple Gate

OR a truly magical and unique venue for your Wedding, Civil Ceremony or Civil Partnership, look no further than the family owned and managed 4-star Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis. The Great Hall at the Temple Gate Hotel is the space where you will celebrate your special occasion. Originally built as a church in 1886 the Great Hall still retains many of its original features including stained glass windows, vaulted ceiling with oak beams and hand painted batiks. The Temple Gate Hotel has a fantastic reputation for fine food. Hosting one wedding per day, you and your guests are guaranteed a memorable occasion with delicious AA Rosette award winning food. Expertly prepared to ensure you have the quality of food you expect on your Wedding Day. The Temple Gate Hotel offers a

range of carefully selected wedding packages starting from €49.95 per person, which includes a Champagne red carpet arrival for the bridal party, punch or mulled wine reception for all your wedding guests, chair covers and sashes, floral centrepiece displays and personalised menu cards. Also included is a choice of a 5-course menu including specially selected house wines and an evening buffet. Reduced accommodation rates are available for your guests and a romantic candlelit dinner for two for the bride and groom in Legends restaurant on your first anniversary. Your dedicated wedding planner will be with you every step of the way ensuring every detail of your special day is taken care of to perfection. For further details or to arrange an appointment please call 065 682 3300 or email sales@templegatehotel.com or visit www.templegatehotel.com

W E D D I N G S 21 OCTOBER 2021

Grettals Petals

Blooming in Business, Here for you

RE you in the early stages of planning the big day? Then contact me, Gretta at Grettals Petals and I will be happy to provide the perfect flowers for your wedding, if you’re looking for something unique and alternative let’s discuss your new adventure! When you get in touch, it’s usually to ask about prices, and we will open a discussion with your specific requirements in mind, especially flowers and colours. I always like to check that everything is available and in season when you need it. You should know that I only take a limited number of wedding bookings each year, as I like to give them all my person-

al attention. I arrange all the flowers myself personally, and I deliver and do the set up myself. Each wedding is unique, and you will receive my undivided attention to ensure you are happy with your wedding flowers. We have been doing weddings at Grettals Petals since 2012, have opened our second shop in Ennis in 2021. We find that our Brides from the earlier years are always in touch, and we see their families grow, and help them with flowers for all occasions as the years pass us by. At the heart of every quotation is the assurance from me that I will do the best I can with your budget, after all, you will only do this once, so let’s make it right!

with shops in Shannon and Ennis

AWARD WINNING FLORIST

Create Your Dream Wedding At Grettals Petals, we love working with Brides! Finding the perfect colour combination, and themed arrangements to suit your big day is key.

Ennis & Shannon, Phone: 061 364517, 065 6866579, 085 1119993 Email:info@grettalspetals.com www.grettalspetals.com

Beautiful homes all over the County

Property

BALLYKEEL SOUTH, KILFENORA, CO. CLARE

CROVRAGHAN, KILDYSART, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

AMV €76,000

AMV €68,000

25 WOODHAVEN, KILRUSH ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€285,000

THE property and lands are situated in the townland of Ballykeel South, Kilfenora, approximately 1km west of the R476 Corofin to Lisdoonvarna Roadway. Kilfenora is within 2km with Lisdoonvarna 7km from the property. The property is for sale by online auction on Friday 29th October on dngauctions.ie. The property comprises of an old derelict farmhouse fronting onto the south side of the road. The lands comprise of approximately 6.12 ha (15.12 acres) of agricultural land with frontage onto the local roadway.

BOASTING fantastic views overlooking Shannon Estuary to the front and with the added advantage of large gardens and paddocks, this property offers excellent potential as a family home, investment or indeed holiday home dwelling. The property requires complete refurbishment and modernisation internally being an extended three bedroom cottage. The property is within minutes drive of Kildysart village and approximately 20 minutes drive to Ennis Town Centre. There is a number of block built sheds located to the rear, private garden areas to the front and seperate large paddocks to the rear and side. Viewing is strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents. ntial to appreciate this superbly situated coastal property.

LOCATED in the popular Woodhaven housing development, fronting onto the vast and mature open green, and within a short stroll to all of Ennis town amenities, No. 25 is a bright and spacious 5 bedroom detached family home boasting ample off street parking and private rear gardens (not overlooked). To the ground floor, from the entrance hallway leads you to the spacious main reception with double connecting doors into the open plan kitchen/dining featuring shaker solid oak built in units with granite work surfaces and from the kitchen is a door leading to the utility. Also at ground floor level is an En-Suite bedroom. To the first floor are 4 further bedrooms all of which have built in wardrobes and the master bedroom being En-Suite and main bathroom. Viewing is highly recommended and strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents.

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

BALTARD, DOONBEG, CO. CLARE

154 ACHA BHILE, LAHINCH ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

76 HERMITAGE, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

€249,950

€125,000

€139,000

DECEPTIVELY large cottage with a two storey extension (approx. 2,000sq.ft) in a beautiful setting overlooking Farrihy Bay and within 200 meters of the shoreline. This property is ideally located in a countryside setting approximately 6km from Doonbeg village, 9km from Trump International Hotel and Golf Links Resort and 15km from Kilrush Town. The property boasts 4 bedrooms, reception room and spacious kitchen/dining with large garden laid to the lawn to the side and rear. Viewing is strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents

THE Acha Bhile apartment units are noted to be one of the most spacious apartments available in the Ennis market with Apartment 154 boasting a ground floor position within this popular housing development. Each apartment in the development features its own private door access which opens into a stunning and very spacious open plan kitchen/living/dining area. It is worth noting with Apt 154 there are two patios located off the living area to the front and bedroom 2 to the rear. Quality fitted kitchen, tiling, built in wardrobes to both bedrooms, surround sound system, air circulation unit, mains gas central heating and exterior storage unit are some of the features of this property. This would make a fantastic retirement/ first time buyer/ investment property within a short distance of Ennis Town Centre and surrounding amenities. Viewing is strictly by prior appointment with sole selling agents.

MID terrace 2 bedroom property in an excellent location, within walking distance of the town centre and all amenities. The property enjoys prime location on elevated site overlooking Ennis Town. Mature residential area with front and rear garden area with gated side access. Rear garden is laid to lawn with paved BBQ area directly from kitchen/dining room. The property has recently been redecorated and is presented in excellent order. Viewing comes highly recommended and strictly by prior appointment.

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

PROPERTY 41

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Sport Clare Echo THE

21-10-21

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Davy Fitz set for Galway role? by PÁRAIC McMAHON

CLUBS in Galway have kicked up a fuss following a report by The Clare Echo which detailed that Davy Fitzgerald was set to be announced as the new manager of the Tribesmen. County Board chiefs had previously said they were to announce a successor to Shane O’Neill by the end of this week but as of lunchtime on Wednesday in the aftermath of an exclusive which appeared on clareecho.ie, officials have come under fire from a handful of clubs protesting about the looming appointment of the Six-

milebridge man. Initially Fitzgerald’s appointment was set to be announced by Galway GAA on Wednesday. However, The Clare Echo has learned that a strong reaction to this approach is set to result in a delay to their plans to have a manager in place by the end of this week. Interviews for the vacant role resumed late last week, the last man to lead Galway to All-Ireland glory, Micheál Donoghue informed the County Board in recent weeks he wasn’t in a position to return to the role. Fitzgerald had said he would not be interested in taking on the

job if the Clarinbridge man wanted the post. Addressing club delegates in recent weeks, Galway Chair, Paul Bellew said that in the event of reaching an All-Ireland final, the board was in a posi-

tion to spend up to €750,000 on preparing the team. €400,000 was spent on the Tribesmen’s senior hurlers in 2021. Sources have indicated to The Clare Echo that both Brian

Hanley and Jeffrey Lynksey were interviewed for the role along with the former Banner goalkeeper. Between playing for Clare along with managing Waterford, Clare and Wexford, Davy has been involved at senior inter-county level for thirty five years in a row, a stint with Galway would bring this to thirty six. As reported by The Clare Echo, a strong Clare contingent is forming Fitzgerald’s Galway ticket, all of whom worked with him at some stage during his five year tenure in charge of the Banner County, the highlights being the

2013 All-Ireland success and 2016 National League title. Louis Mulqueen is set to make a return to the Galway set-up under the two-time All-Ireland winner. The Ennis based secondary school principal was part of Ger Loughnane’s management when he was over Galway in 2007. Others tipped to be involved include Michael Browne, who was part of the Clare management for the final two years of Fitzgerald’s reign is also to be involved, Cratloe’s Mike Deegan, Clooney/Quin’s Fergal Lynch, and S&C coach, Lukasz Kirszenstein.

Clooney-Quin subdue Magpies Crusheen still in hunt for senior status in relegation ‘boxing match’ CLOONEY QUIN 0-25 CLARECASTLE 0-22 Venue: Shannon | By Derek Dormer NOEL HARRISON, CLOONEY/QUIN SELECTOR: “Absolutely epic, it was like a boxing match, that’s the best way of summing it up we went in for a punch they’d come back with two, we would go up the field and punch again. It was a case of who wanted it more and we dug deep in that last quarter and I couldn’t be happier. The last thing we said at the final water break was to keep at it even if we went two or three down, keep at it, scores would become available, it was do or die hurling and we knew if we stayed at it kept plugging away we would come out the right side. Clarecastle died with their boots on and we are just grateful it went our way.”

BRIAN RUSSELL, CLARECASTLE MANAGER: “A terrific game but that’s no good to us, we would have taken a one nil victory that nobody would ever watch again but overall it’s disappointing. We had the game in our grasp and after saving a penalty surely it was to be our day but we faded really badly at the end. They scored the last five scores and in tight games that will kill teams...sometimes there is just no more left to give. “I’m proud of my players. I’m always proud of them and I always will be proud of them.” SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

CLOONEY/QUIN Frees for: 11 (6/5) Wides: 14 (8/6) Spread of Scorers: 9 Scores from play: 15 Top Scorer Peter Duggan (0-11 9f 1SC) Own puck outs won: 13 from 22 (59%)

CLARECASTLE: Frees for: 13 (4/9) Wides: 7 (2/5) Spread of Scorers: 8 Scores from play: 14 Top Scorer: Bobby Duggan (0-9 7f) Own puck outs won: 15 from 39 (38%)

Peter Duggan Photo by Gerard O’Neill

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Crusheen 1-19 O’Callaghans Mills 1-17 Venue: Clonlara

CRUSHEEN took the first step towards saving their senior status for 2022 when they recorded a hard earned two point win over O’Callaghans Mills, writes Seamus Hayes. Lining out with former club and county captain Gerry O’Grady in the team at full forward, they fought back from an early deficit and held the lead throughout the second half. Ongoing injuries forced O’Grady to retire from senior hurling a few years back but he has been hugely influential in leading the club to the junior championship final this season and this led to his return to the senior side. Boosted by an early goal from Sean Cotter, the Mills led 1-4 to 0-6 at the first waterbreak but when the half time whistle sounded Crusheen had edged a point ahead with the score at 0-11 to 1-7. Helped by a goal from a long range free from Ciaran O’Doherty, the winners pushed five points clear in the third quarter at the end

of which they were 1-15 to 1-10 clear. The Mills piled on the pressure and fought back to within a point of their opponents but try as they did they failed to get back on terms on a day when Jacob Loughnane was in sparkling form from placed balls accounting for 0-13 of his side’s total. With seven players featuring on their scorers list, Crusheen held the edge which proved crucial in getting them overs the line. Conor O’Donnell was his side’s top scorer with 0-7, five from frees, to his credit. Jamie Fitzgibbon contributed 0-5 from play as Crusheen put themselves in a strong position to avoid the drop to intermediate level. O’Donnell, Fitzgibbon, Donal Tohy, Eanna McMahon Cian Dillon and John Brigdale until injured were prominent for Crusheen.

Scorers Crusheen: C O’Donnell (0-7 5f), J Fitzgibbon (0-5), C O’Doherty (1-2), B Horner (0-2), C Mullins (0-1), G O’Grady (0-1), A Tuohy (0-1). Scorers O’Callaghans Mills: J Loughnane (0-13), S Cotter (1-2), G Cooney (0-1), A Fawl (0-1). Crusheen; Donal Tuohy; Tadhg Deane, Ciaran O’Doherty, Eanna Mc-

Semi final pairings decided by PÁRAIC McMAHON Semi-final pairings have been confirmed for the Clare senior hurling championship (SHC). Following four entertaining and close contests in the quarter-finals, the last four are known and at Monday’s draw in Clareabbey, they discovered their opponents for the penultimate stage. Fresh from dethroning Sixmilebridge, Éire Óg have been served up another mouth-watering tie as they must now go toe to toe with Inagh/Kilnamona. The Ennis outfit were arguably the most impressive of the four winners at the weekend while Eugene Cullinan’s Inagh/Kilnamona are unbeaten in this year’s championship after topping the Group of Death. Of the teams left standing, Ballyea are the most champions. The winners in 2016 and 2018 overcame Kilmaley by the smallest of margins on Sunday and they have been paired off with Newmarket-on-Fergus, the Blues advancing to the semi-finals on the back of a hard-fought win against neighbours Wolfe Tones. These clashes are to take place on the weekend of October 30th/31st. Clare SHC semi-finals: Inagh/Kilnamona v Éire Óg Newmarket-on-Fergus v Ballyea Mahon; John Brigdale, Cian Dillon, Cathal Dillon; Cilléin Mullins, Oisin O’Donnell; Conor O’Donnell, Jamie Fitzgibbon, Fergus Kennedy; Diarmuid Mullins, Gerry O’Grady, Breffni Horner. Subs: Luke Kettaalar for D Mullins, Luke Hayes for Brigdale (inj); Mark Perrill for Cathal Dillon; Murrough McMahon for Kennedy (inj.) Alan Tuohy for O’Grady. O’Callaghans Mills: Killian Nugent; Ciaran Cooney, Conor Cooney, Gerry Cooney; Patrick Donnellan, Aidan O’Gorman, Sean O’Gorman; Conor Henry, Cormac Murphy; Jacob Loughnane, Gary Cooney, Aidan Fawl; Colm Cleary, Sean Cotter, Colin Crehan. Subs: Conor Cooney (Ermhill) for Cleary; Michael McGrath for A. Fawl.

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Schools to do battle in Clare Echo sponsored football competitions PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

AN ABSENCE of post-primary action has left students and teachers reinvigorated about the prospect of representing their schools. The Clare Echo has come on board as the sponsor of a series of gaelic football post-primary competitions that will operate at senior, junior and U15 level. The county’s most read newspaper are to donate trophies for the competitions as well as sponsoring man of the match awards for the finals in each grade. Kilrush Community School, Rice College, St Josephs Secondary School Spanish Point, Ennistymon CBS, St John Bosco Community College Kildysart, St Caimin’s Community School Shannon, St Michael’s Community College Kilmihil, Kilkee Community College, Ennistymon Vocational School, Mary Immaculate Lisdoonvarrna, Ennis Community College and St Patrick’s Comprehensive School Shannon are all partaking in the three competitions. In a bid to further promote football in the county, a post-primary schools committee was put in place this year, it is chaired by St Josephs Spanish Point principal, Paul Reidy. He outlined that, “for the first time ever there’s a Clare Colleges A and B competition at

U15, Junior and Senior level”. An A and B competition exists for the three grades, the split is six and six at Junior and U15 with four teams vying for the A at senior and eight in the B. Brian Dillon of Ennistymon CBS, Rice College’s Denis O’Driscoll and Brian Conway from Mary Immaculate Lisdoonvarna are part of the committee alongside Paul. “We sat down and structured the competitions, did the draws and put a fixture schedule together for the 2021/22 school year. The initial round of fixtures began on the 11th of October, it was the first date, there will be games played every week until competitions are finished out. The Junior competition won’t start until the end of January or start of February,” he explained. Interest had been waning due to tired structures, the Kilmihil man felt. “We’re so delighted as a committee for The Clare Echo to come on board, we’re delighted they have come on board and sponsored the competitions going forward and promote the fantastic standard of football that is played in post primary schools in Clare. You can see the priority post-primary is given in Cork and Kerry and how they use it to develop their footballers, that’s what we’re seeking to do in Clare by having more games at post primary level, more training and the promotion of that so students see the status at Clare and Munster level”.

A renewed appetite exists when it comes to lining out at school level, Reidy believed. “We’re hoping to hold the finals under lights at night so parents can attend. It is about bringing post-primary

schools football to the forefront within the county, there’s more games involved, it gives students more opportunity to represent their school. Coming after two years of restrictions and no schools GAA

last year, there’s huge enthusiasm in schools from teachers and students to get involved in GAA again and represent their schools, this is giving them a great opportunity”. Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Post-primary hurling ‘a step forward’ - Moloney by PÁRAIC McMAHON STARTING a new U15 post-primary hurling competition represents “a step forward on a lot of fronts” for underage development in the county, former Clare manager Donal Moloney has said. Scariff native Moloney is part of a governance group alongside County Board representative John Fawl, fixtures administrator John Culligan, St Josephs Tulla teacher Terence Fahy, development squad managers Kieran McDermott and Jim Fitzgerald plus Clare GAA coaches Micheál Duffy, Rob Mulcahy and Peter Casey that devised the new competition with planning beginning in February. Both Ard Scoil Rís and Gort Community College have crossed the county border to take part and they will be able to field only Clare players for the competition. St Flannan’s College, Rice College, St Caimin’s Community School, St Pat-

rick’s Comprehensive, Ennistymon CBS, Ennis Community College, St Anne’s Killaloe, St John Bosco Community College Kildysart, Scariff Community College, St Joseph’s Tulla, Kilkee Community College and St Joseph’s Spanish Point are all lining out. A high calibre of coaches attended the launch of the competition

including Brendan Bugler, Tony Kelly, Aidan Harte, Aaron Cunningham, Tomás Kelly, Eoghan Hanley and Terence Fahy. Hanley who has spearheaded the Future Leaders programme has helped to include the aspect of Transition Year students reporting on the games and promoting them. Speaking to The Clare Echo,

Moloney acknowledged the support of Club Clare as sponsors and the “unequivocal support” of Clare GAA Chairman Jack Chaplin and secretary Pat Fitzgerald. He was optimistic the competition would stand to today’s secondary school students. “It is a step forward for the kids involved because they haven’t had a lot of competitions in the last couple of years primarily because of COVID, hopefully it is a step forward for the schools who have been given a structure, a competition and resources to help with preparation and coaching. It will be good for hurling overall but it is primarily about the players and the schools.” Better resources are to be given to schools to aid this progression. “There is a reason Flannan’s and Tulla are the elite, it is because they already have great structures. When I see the likes of Kildysart, Spanish Point and Shannon Comp trying to get things going again that is where we really want to focus.. In my home

school of Scariff, we tried to bring in some resources to help mobilise things there, some of the schools in our hurling heartlands haven’t had the best of times but that is primarily due to resources but also we would hope that this would stimulate a lot of those schools to aspire to have a stronger sporting ethos in their schools.” Moloney who alongside Gerry O’Connor managed Clare to an unprecedented Munster and All-Ireland three-in-a-row at U21 level felt the renewed focus would stand to the county’s underage sides. “I know things didn’t go well for our minors this year but unfortunately irrespective of what coaching team had charge of them, the game was lost in the preceding years when they didn’t have the structures or coaching resources to help them. The focus put in at development squad level will yield benefits, today is about the participation and engagement, we’ve 300 boys across 15 schools.”

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CLARE SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER FINALS

‘Honesty and hunger’ drives Townies ÉIRE ÓG 2-18 SIXMILEBRIDGE 1-11 Venue: Cusack Park

MATT SHANNON, ÉIRE ÓG MANAGER: “We stayed focused for this game, we started well. We have met the last three years and twice last year. We know each other fairly well. Unlike last year, we kept it going. “We were tuned in from the off. It was a good team effort. It wasn’t a day conducive to flashy hurling. You can have all the stats, nutritionists but you need 90% honesty and hunger and we brought that from the off today. They (Sixmilebridge) have been great champions. They are the standard bearers in this county and we all want to get where they are. For us this is only a quarter final and we are only back where we were last year. We have one or two lads extra this year and we needed them all”.

ÉIRE ÓG: Frees For: 18 (9/9) Wides: 6 (4/2) Scores from play: 2-11 Spread of scorers: 6 Top scorer: Danny Russell (0-08 7f) Bookings: None Own puckouts won: 18 out of 20 (90%)

Caimin Morey tries to get a touch to the sliotar while Darren O’Brien powers forward Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SIXMILEBRIDGE: Frees For: 12 (5/7) Wides: 8 (4/4) Scores from play: 0-5 Spread of scorers: 7 Top scorer: Alex Morey (0-05 5f) Bookings: Noel Purcell (21) Own puckouts won: 16 out of 26

TIM CROWE, SIXMILEBRIDGE MANAGER: “Éire Óg were the sharper team today. I think the reason we played poorly was because Éire Óg didn’t let us. I would like to congratulate them on a fantastic performance. They have been on the receiving end for the last two years from us. Today was their day. Fair dues to them for sticking with it. They got their just rewards and I congratulate them on a well merited victory. Most of our scoring came from frees. Éire Óg were tenacious, they were energetic, they were committed to putting us out and they delivered the goods and well done to Éire Óg”.

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

REFEREE: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)

Compiled by Seamus Hayes

Newmarket flag concern despite win NEWMARKET ON FERGUS 1-15 WOLFE TONES 0-15 Venue: Cusack Park

NEWMARKET Frees for: 15 (8/7) Wides: 17 (7/10) Scores from play: 1-8 Spread of scorers: 5 Top scorer: Colin Ryan (0-10 6f 3’65) Bookings; Eoin Hayes (44) Own puckouts won: 18 out of 24 (75%) WOLFE TONES Frees for: 9 (4/5) Wides: 9 (3/6) Scores from play: 0-10 Spread of scorers: 6 Top scorer: Aaron Cunningham (0-05) Bookings: None Own puckouts won: 9 out of 33 (27%)

Compiled by Seamus Hayes

TOMAS RYAN, NEWMARKET-ONFERGUS MANAGER: “We played well, especially in the first quarter. We just missed a lot of chances. Wolfe Tones were very clinical. We weren’t playing particularly bad but in the second quarter we definitely dropped our workrate. Overall, we were ahead in general play but didn’t put it on the scoreboard. We got there in the end SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

Aaron Cunningham gets away from Éanna Crimmins and James McInerney; (right) Aron Shanagher and Niall O’Connor battle for the dropping ball Photos by Gerard O’Neill

but there were a lot of missed chances. We have been efficient with twenty plus scores in mosts games. There is a little bit of concern but we will take it Sometimes these games don’t go exactly according to plan. RAY DIVINEY, WOLFE TONES MANAGER: “We are hugely disappointed. It didn’t work out for us on the day, I want to thank the players for their efforts this season. Best of luck to Newmarket-on-Fergus for the rest of the campaign”. REFEREE: Wayne King (St Josephs Doora/Barefield)

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Guyler goal the turning point

INAGH-KILNAMONA Frees for: 10 (4/6) Wides: 12 (9/3) Spread of scorers: 9 Scores from play: 1-20 Top scorers: Aidan McCarthy (0-06 2f) & Josh Guyler (1-03) Bookings: None Own puckouts won: 26 out 36 (72%)

INAGH KILNAMONA 1-22 CRATLOE 0-21 Venue: Cusack Park EUGENE CULLINAN, INAGH/KILNAMONA MANAGER: “I’m delighted that we have qualified for the semi-final. I’m thrilled for the boys. They have a huge effort put in and it’s great to get the reward.. the goal definitely settled us. “Cratloe had huge momentum at the start. They have huge experience of occasions like this. We found it difficult to find our feet but once we started motoring, we did well. Our lads showed that they really wanted it. Hunger and

drive is more important than anything and the lads have that. We have a good bench with a few lads who were disappointed that they didn’t get in today. The group are driving themselves on, each man is been driven by the next man.” CONOR EARLEY, CRATLOE MANAGER: “The goal was a big turning point and we had a few goal chances before that. We played really well in the first quarter and should have been

BALLYEA; Frees for: 10 (8/2) Wides: 11 (7/4) Spread of scorers: 6 Scores from play: 0-13 Top scorer: Niall Deasy (0-07 4f) Bookings: Brandon O’Connell (20) Own puckouts won: 25 out of 32 (78%)

Niall Deasy barges past Bradley Higgins Photo by Gerard O’Neill

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CRATLOE Frees For: 10 (6/4) Wides: 15 (6/9) Spread of scorers: 8 Scores from play: 0-15 Top scorers: Conor McGrath (0-04 2f), Podge Collins (0-04), Cathal McInerney (004). Bookings: None Own puckouts won: 27 out of 33 (82%)

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

David Fitzgerald powers forward with Conor McGrath in pursuit Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Compiled by Seamus Hayes

Kilmaley rue bad decision making, Ballyea march on BALLYEA 0-17 KILMALEY 0-16 Venue: Cusack Park

KILMALEY Frees For: 11 (4/7) Wides: 16 (11/5) Spread of scorers: 6 Scores from play: 0-11 Top scorer: Joe Carmody (0-4 4f), Sean O’Loughlin (0-04 1f). Bookings: Tom O’Rourke (15) Own puckouts won: 20 out of 28 (71%)

Compiled by Seamus Hayes

more up, we were really going well. You need to take your chances as it’s a really competitive championship. Every team is more or less the same and on a day your have to take your chances and they really didn’t go in for us. “I can’t commend those guys enough, they battled so hard, kept going and kept going. There is just a great spirit there with them. They are just unlucky today wasn’t their day”.

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ROBBIE HOGAN, BALLYEA MANAGER: “It was nip and tuck, It was tit for tat all the way through. We went a few ahead, they went ahead. It was everything you would expect from a local derby. “Kilmaley brought savage intensity, nothing that we weren’t expecting. It’s great to get over the line and make the last four. The team that works hardest is the team that comes through, hooks, blocks, tackles, turnovers. It’s not all about the scores, workrate throughout the field is what it is about. “Tony Kelly is a value to the club, a value to the county, a massive player. We have to move on now... we could do with him every day. I heard a great quote

from the late Axel Foley, he said we are not dealing with livestock, we are dealing with human beings. Tony’s body needs the operation and we will back him. We wouldn’t be in the position we are in without him.” CONOR CLANCY, KILMALEY MANAGER; “It’s disappointing but I am hugely proud of the lads the way they battled. Everybody had us written off before the match. We were down players but the lads were immense. We were unlucky there for the finish that we couldn’t get one more score. “I am hugely impressed with the lads and the way they battled and I’m disappointed for them that they didn’t get the result.

We probably lacked a small bit of composure there in the first half and we probably made a few bad decisions going for scores when we could have gone with a few balls into the full forward line. “Look, it’s a learning experience. They are a very young team and we hope they will learn from this and come back and that there will be better days ahead.” REFEREE: Jarlath Donnellan (Wolfe Tones)

AARON FITZGERALD

Éire Óg

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SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

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CLARE INTERMEDIATE HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINALS

Smith O’Briens ‘dig deep’ For match report, scan QR code with phone camera

Michael O’Shea and David Gough celebrate at the final whistle Photo by Natasha Barton

SMITH O’BRIENS 0-15 TULLA 0-10 Venue: Sixmilebridge | By Derek Dormer SMITH O’BRIENS: Frees for: 7 (3/4) Wides: 17 (7/10) Spread of Scorers: 7 Scores from play: 0-14 Top Scorer: Micheal O Shea (0-5) Bookings: Dwayne Sheedy (20), Keith Stritch (34), Cathal Stritch (56) Own puck outs: 8 from 15 (53%) TULLA: Frees for: 5 (3/2) Wides: 9 (8/1) Spread of Scorers: 6 Scores from play: 0-7 Top Scorer: Ronan Molloy (0-3 1f) Bookings: Jimmy O’Gorman (41) Own puck outs: 13 from 26 (50%)

TONY GLEESON, SO’B MANAGER: “The Tubber and Tulla games were two proper battles and prepped us for the semi final and by God did the lads dig deep there. I’m very proud of them, at half time I said to the lads, were they happy with their tackles, turnovers and workrate in the first half. They all put their hands on their heads

and said no, but by God they dug deep in the second half, their tackles, their turnovers, their running off the ball was great.” EAMONN KELLY, TULLA MANAGER: “It’s tough but to be fair Smith O’Briens deserved it, they were very economical after half time. They held us to three points in that sec-

ond half and hats off to them. Neither team wanted to lose it and Tulla haven’t been here in a while Smith O’Briens were here last year and they wanted it that bit more. To be fair to them they managed the game very well in the conditions and we wish them every success in the final.” REFEREE: Kevin Corry (‘Bridge)

Parish ‘hungry for it’

ST JOSEPHS Frees: 15 (5/10) Wides: 8 (5/3) Spread of scorers: 7 Scores from play: 4-07 Top scorer: Cathal Ruane (1-08 5f 1’65), Bookings: Brian Guilfoyle (8), Own puckouts won: 9 from 18 (50%) RUAN Frees: 13 (4/9) Wides: 6 (4/2) Spread of scorers: 5 Scores from play: 2-07 Top scorer: Robin Mounsey (2-03) Own puckouts won: 13 from 27 (48%)

Colm Rice and Cathal Ruane get acquainted on the sideline Photo by Natasha Barton

For match report, scan QR code with phone camera

DOORA BAREFIELD 5-14 RUAN 2-10 Venue: Sixmilebridge | By Páraic McMahon

MICHAEL GUILFOYLE, ST JOSEPHS MANAGER: “We’re on the final rung of the ladder but it will take a savage battle, we saw the other semi-final and I can

tell you every ounce of blood, sweat and tears will be required to win this championship, Smith O’Briens are hungry for it but let me tell you we’re very hungry too.”

NIALL O’CONNOR, RUAN MANAGER: “I’m really proud of the lads, six of the starting team are under twenty, they’re very young. It’s a big learning curve for us today.”

Scariff Ogonnelloe’s triumphant U13s celebrate their success at the weekend

Parish, Scariff-Ogonnelloe and Parteen secure U13 honours by EOIN BRENNAN

THE inaugural Under 13 Hurling Championship Finals certainly lived up to expectations last Saturday, with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, Scariff-Ogonnelloe and Parteen garnering the major honours thanks to their superior goal threats. Three late majors in the space of eight minutes through Leon Talty (2) and Kyle Lillis ensured that St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield finally overcame Ballyea by 4-13 to 1-13 to claim the prestigious Under 13A crown in Clarecastle. With the O’Sullivan brothers Fergal (Doora/Barefield) and Diarmuid (Ballyea) involved as mentors on opposite sides of the divide, a brilliant contest unfolded, with the Parish snatching the whip hand in the opening period. Led supremely by centre-back Graham Ball and towering scorer0in-chief Leon Talty who finished the hour with a remarkable 3-9 haul, St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield defied the conditions to take a 1-11 to 0-07 advantage into the half-time break, only for Ballyea to bounce back off the ropes in the second period. A Sean O’Sullivan rebound goal after only 90 seconds of the new half immediately ignited Ballyea’s challenge that was again fronted by dynamic duo Dara Kennedy and Eoin O’Connor to finally regain parity entering the final ten minutes at 1-13 apiece. However, the pendulum would swing back in Doora/Barefield’s direction when Kyle Lillis kicked to the net in the 50th minute, quickly followed by a brace of clinical finishes by Leon Talty to fittingly clinch the A honours. In contrast, it was Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s lightning start that provided the confidence and platform to grind out a 3-14

to 2-8 victory over Clooney-Quin in the Under 13B Final in Clonlara. Oisin Madden’s goal helped the East Clare combo to grab 1-1 inside two minutes of the throwin, settling scores that kickstarted Scariff-Ogonnelloe to lead from start to finish. 1-5 from Madden helped his side to a commanding 1-9 to 0-4 interval cushion but a defiant Clooney-Quin weren’t about to accept their perceived fate and thanks to a Marcas Fitzpatrick goal, they eventually whittled the deficit down to just three by the two-thirds mark at 1-11 to 1-8. Scariff-Ogonnelloe refused to panic though and got back on track with a goal either side of the final water break through Luke Kavanagh and Donnacha McKenna to cement the silverware despite a late consolation goal for Seanie Considine. A powerful final quarter completed a historic Under 13C Hurling and Football Championship double in Broadford on Saturday morning after overcoming Whitegate by 3-9 to 1-9. A week on from powering to the Under 13 Division 3 Football title, a buoyant Parteen raided for timely goals through Gavin Marshall, Finn Cahill and finally Shane Curtin. A Jake Gibbons inspired Whitegate had gotten back on level terms by the final water break, only to be hit by an unanswered rally of 1-3 as Parteen’s encouraging season continued unabated. The Under 13 Shield Finals along with the concluding stages of the Under 17 Hurling Championships take place this Saturday, with the Minor A Semi-Finals seeing table toppers Inagh-Kilnamona face Clarecastle while there’s also a last four derby between Clooney-Quin and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield.

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Semi-final line up complete for ladies football by SEAMUS HAYES

HE four semi-finalists in this year’s Clare ladies football senior championship have been confirmed after Sunday’s final round of games in the group stage. Champions, Banner Ladies top the group and they will play fourth placed Kilmurry Ibrickane with second placed Kilmihil facing third placed St. Josephs Doora/Barefield. Last Sunday’s meeting of Kilmurry Ibrickane and Cooraclare was abandoned with just over two minutes remaining. A meeting of the Clare executive on Monday night awarded the match to Kilmurry on the basis that Cooraclare would not have been able to close the deficit in the remaining time as Kilmurry led 6-7 to 1-8 when referee Pat Byrne O’Connell stopped the game. Both semi-finals are scheduled for Sunday week, October 31 with the final set for Doonbeg on November 14. The winner will begin their Munster campaign on November 21. The beaten Clare semi-finalists will play the Clare senior B final CHAMPIONS GO MARCHING ON

Banner 4-11 Kilmihil 0-6 Venue: St Michael’s Park, Kilmihil

Title holders Banner ladies are through to the semi-finals of this year’s competition after recording their fifth successive victory in this season’s campaign. An outstanding display by centre back Laurie Ryan steered the Ennis based

outfit to this latest victory. Despite the loss, their first in this campaign, Kilmihil are also through to the last four having finished in second place. Aoibheann Malone (2), Aoife Keane and Aoibheann Ryan were the goal scorers for the winners while Becky Mahon (0-4), Ellie O’Gorman and Natasha Murray scored for Kilmihil.

Eva O’Dea feels the brunt of a challenge Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Banner: Emma O’Driscoll; Siobhan McMahon, Eva O’Dea, Leah Talty; Lisa Ryan, Laurie Ryan, Sinead Power; Louise Henchy, Sarah Ni Cheallaigh; Aoife Keane, Shona Enright, Emily Cahill; Louise Woods, Aoibheann Malone, Aoibhean Ryan; Subs: Alannah McNamara for Cahill; Helen Hehir for A. Malone; Shannon Donovan for A. Keane. Kilmihil; Micaela Glynn; Cathy Keating, Rosie Kirrane, Elaine O’Halloran; Zoe Ryan, Megan Downes-Rigney, Kate Coughlan; Laura Egan, Becky Mahon; Chloe Devitt, Caitriona O’Gorman, Ellie O’Gorman; Katie Mullen, Sarah Browne, Aoife McNamara. Subs: Niamh Quinlivan for C. Keating; Katie O’Halloran for L. Egan(inj_ Emma O’Grady for S. Browne; Natasha Murray for A. McNamara;

Kilmurry-Ibrickane: Katie McMahon; Jessica Doohan, Rebecca Doohan, Rachel Tubridy; Roisin Montgomery, Maeve Foley, Emma Coughlan; Siofra O’Dea, Joanna Doohan; Chloe Moloney , Sophie Daly, Amy Sexton; Caitlyn O’Connor. Karen Galvin, Karen Coughlan Subs: Ellie Hanrahan for E. Coughlan; Maire Garvey for R. Montgomery; Chloe O’Brien for Jessica Doohan. Cooraclare: AnneMarie Callinan; Chloe Lillis, Laura Quinlivan, Saskia Morrissey; Sinead Lillis, Zoe Downes, Katie Lillis; Shauna O Gorman, Roisin Looney; Anna Mae Killeen, Nicola Keating, Megan Downes;Aimee Mc Namara, Katie Cronin, Aoibhe Hehir; Sub: Orlaith Lillis for L. Quinlivan(inj)

ST. JOSEPHS SEAL SEMI-FINAL SPOT St. Josephs 3-12 West Clare Gaels 3-11 Venue: Gurteen

St. Josephs, Doora-Barefield qualified for the Clare ladies senior football championship semi-final with a slender one point win over West Clare Gaels. As the scoreline suggests the game was tight throughout with the winning goal for the Doora-Barefield outfit coming from substitute Ciara Duggan. Fidelma Harvey converted two penalties for the West Clare side while Grainne Harvey was their other goal scorer. St. Josephs Doora/Barefield; Caoifhlinn Ni Chonnaill; Siofra Ni Chonaill,

ladies board on Monday night awarded the game to Kilmurry on the basis that Cooraclare would not have been able to overturn the deficit in the time remaining. Asked if disciplinary action is likely to follow because of the abandoning of the game, Clare board secretary Monica Callinan explained that “any disciplinary issues will be passed on to our CODA committee to deal with”. Six players shared in Kilmurry-Ibrickane’s tally of 6-7. Caitlyn O’Connor scored two goals while Joanna Doohan, Chloe Moloney, Sophie Daly and Karen Galvin were the other goalscorers. Full forward Karen Galvin was the top scorer on the day with 1-4 to her credit.

Megan O’Brien, Kate Dillon; Hannah Doyle, Eimear Casey, Roisin Cahill (01); Emer Hanrahan, Ciara Cahill (1-1); Shauna Moloney, Ashling Reidy (0-2), Ciara Guilfoyle; Ashling Hannan (1-1), Caoimhe Hoey, Amy Lenihan (0-7); Subs: Lyndsey Clarke for Emer Hanrahan; Emily Barry for Shauna Moloney; Ciara Duggan (1-0) for Amy Lenihan; Hannah Meaney for Caoimhe Hoey; Alex Potter for Ciara Guilfoyle West Clare Gaels; Emma McMahon; Sophie O’Callaghan, Sara Marrinan, Ciara McQuaid; Colette Keniry, Becky Madigan, Aine Moloney; Grainne Harvey, Ruth Ferguson;Siobhan Keane;

Shauna Harvey, Caoimhe Harvey; Niamh Lardner, Fidelma Marrinan and Roisin Brew Subs; Sorricha Griffin for Sophie O’Callaghan; Nell Walsh for R. Brew;

GAME AWARDED TO KILMURRY AFTER GAME ABANDONED Kilmurry-Ibrickane 6-7 Cooraclare 1-8 Venue: Cooraclare

(Game abandoned with over 2 minutes remaining) Just under three minutes

remained in this tie at Cooraclare on Sunday when referee Pat Byrne O’Connell called a halt to proceedings. It’s alleged that the refusal of a Kilmurry official led to the decision of the match official. Earlier he had ordered a Kilmurry mentor from the enclosure and that decision was complied with. A meeting of the Clare

Truagh/Clonlara take top by overcoming the champions by BRÍD MacNAMARA

CTION is spicing up in the Clare senior camogie championship with the final four teams now con-

firmed. Kilkishen/Bodyke qualified for the semi-finals for the first time in their history, they received a walkover in their final group game against St Josephs Doora/ Barefield. The Parish’s inability to field a team meant that score difference became null and void in the event of two teams finishing level. The outcome means that the 2019 intermediate champions are without a win at the senior grade since their promotion while Kilkishen/Bodyke will hope the absence of a game won’t hold

them back when it comes to their semi-final outing. Scariff/Ogonnelloe sealed top spot in the group with a comprehensive 1-20 1-4 win over Kilmaley. Having took eventual winners Inagh/Kilnamona to extra time in last year’s semi-final, Kilmaley will be disappointed to not have progressed past the group stages, their hurt is also felt by Newmarket-on-Fergus, beaten finalists for the past five seasons who had a bye in the final round but as a result of Kilmaley’s loss and the walkover remain confined to senior b for this season. A dramatic one point win saw Truagh/Clonlara claim top spot in Group B which resulted in Inagh/ Kilnamona’s first championship loss since the 2019 semi-final. A tally of 1-05 in the third quarter was pivotal to their win with

Becky Foley goaling in their 1-10 0-12 win against the county champions. Reigning intermediate champions, Feakle/Killanena had their first win at senior level when they accounted for Sixmilebridge on a score of 4-18 2-9. Lorna McNamara, Robyn Conway, Claire McNamara and Evelyn Duggan raided for the goals, the margin of their win will make them strong favourites for the senior b title. In the intermediate grade, Clooney/Quin made it three wins from three beating Éire Óg 5-14 0-6, Whitegate were too strong for Clarecastle/Ballyea winning 2-12 1-7 while a dominant Tulla held off the challenge on a score of 2-16 1-9. At Junior A level, Inagh/Kilnamona registered their second win beating Kilkishen/Bodyke

Eimear Begley contests for the sliotar with Clare Hehir of Truagh Clonlara

4-19 1-4. It finished 1-10 apiece in Broadford as they hosts welcomed Ruan/Crusheen to SouthEast Clare. Truagh/Clonlara were crowned Junior B champions when they defeated neighbours Parteen 5-10 1-9. sTwo games took place in the Junior C championship with Broadford beating the Banner 6-7 2-1 while Clarecastle/Ballyea held off Whitegate on a score of 3-11 2-7.

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‘Big two’ to clash in Premier league cup final 3-0 half time lead In the early stages of second half Ballyingarry tried hard to get back into the game, but a couple of good saves by Paul Tuohy denied them. In the last quarter the Bridge got back on top and two goals from Jordan Downes ensured their passage to the third round. Late in the game Ballyingarry scored their goal.

Clare Youths players Aaron Kelly & Colin Curran

Photo by Joe Buckley

Bridge United; Paul Tuohy; Dan Larkin, Darren Murphy, Alan Mulready, Storm Devanney, Conor Deasy, Leon Kelly, Alex Collins, Kieran Quinlan, Brian Corry, Jordan Downes. Subs: Leon Daly for Kelly; Jonathan Downes for Murphy; Gavin Whyte for Mulready; Davy Lynch for Corry.

by SEAMUS HAYES THE league cup finals take centre stage this weekend in the Clare soccer league’s fixtures list, with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Frank Healy Park. Proceedings get underway on this Friday evening with the clash of the ‘big two’, Newmarket Celtic and Avenue United in the Premier Final at 7:30pm. Avenue currently lead the Premier Division but Newmarket have a couple of games in hand. Any time these sides meet, it attracts huge interest and this week’s contest should be no different. Both the First and Second Division league cup finals are set for Saturday, also at the county grounds. Saturday’s programme gets underway at 5p.m. with the meeting of Shannon Town B and Newmarket Celtic B and it will be followed at 7.30p.m. by the meeting of Connolly Celtic and Rhine Rovers in the Second Division final. The third division final will see Ennis Dons take on Bunratty/ Cratloe at 12 noon on Sunday, also at Frank Healy Park. A league meeting earlier this week agreed that if any of these finals end level after ninety minutes, the games will go straight to penalties as extra time will not apply. CLARE YOUTHS TRAVEL TO CORK On Saturday the Clare Youths will travel to play the Cork League in Cork at Douglas Hall with a 2pm kick-off. The team which is captained by Aaron Kelly from Shannon Town has had a number of friendlies and training sessions in preparation for the game. Limerick are also in this group and will meet Clare later in the campaign. Jerseys sported by Ruairí Price’s side this year will include the Jigsaw logo in an effort to

show it is okay not to feel okay and for the promotion of mental health.

The team for Saturday’s game will be chosen from the following panel: Jacob Ruminowicz (Avenue United); Joe Hanrahan, Josh Vaughan (both Moher Celtic), Johnson Munnunkum (Ennis Town), Michael Carr, Leon Daly, (both Bridge United), David Lennon, Dan McDarby, Lee Cregan, Martin McCarthy(all Newmarket Celtic); Craig Riordan, Colin Riordan Kevin Kelly, Alan France, Colin Curran, Aaron Kelly, Charlie Morrisson, Jake Leahy (all Shannon Town), Scott Cairns, Isaac O’Sullivan, Eanna Culloo (Tulla United)

PREMIER LEAGUE COMFORTABLE FOR SHANNON TOWN Mountshannon Celtic 1 Shannon Town 5

The trip to Scariff for this tie proved worthwhile for Shannon Town with this convincing win to keep their title hopes on track. Their scorers were Gary O’Connell (2) and one each from Jack Kelly, Brian Monaghan, and Brian O’Connor. Mountshannon’s goal came from William Glass

Mountshannon Celtic: Andy O’Dwyer; Michael O’Brien, Oran Scanlan, Niall Dear, Shane Kavanagh; Martin Cunningham, Michael Barrett, Ronan Dooley, Conor Whelan, Paddy Fitzgerald, William Glass. Subs: Tiernan Slattery for Whelan; John Pearl for M. O’Brien; Simon Ball for R. Dooley Shannon Town: Shane Russell; Steve Carroll, Cody Waller, Alex Cole, Colum Treacy, Jack Kelly, Rob Wall, T. J. O’Dwyer, Brian O’Connor, Gary O’Connell Brian Monaghan; Subs: Nathanael Nyakujara for Cole; Aidan Leahy for Carroll; Ben O’Neill for O’Connor; Charlie Morrison for O’Connell

In the same competition Lifford and Shannon Olympic played out a scoreless draw FAI JUNIOR CUP TWO FOR QUINLAN AND DOWNES Bridge Utd 5 Ballyingarry 1 Venue: Sixmilebridge

Bridge Utd dominated the first half and went in front in the 20th minute when Brian Corry scored. They increased their lead fifteen minutes later when Kieran Quinlan got on the end of cross from the right to score from the edge of the area. Five minutes later Quinlan struck again to give his side a

ALL SO EASY FOR AVENUE UNITED Avenue United 11 Kildimo 0

Eliaz Kunz scored four in Avenue United’s facile win over Kildimo. Gary Roche scored a hat trick while Ronan Kerin, Mikey Dinan, Cian O’Dea, and Conor Mullen also got on the scoresheet for the Ennis side who will meet Abbeyfeale in the next round. This win comes just one week on from the historic outing which saw five Roches (Paul, Alan, Mark, Gary and Jamie) all on the field at the same time. Avenue United: Paul Roche; Jamie Roche Conor Mullen, Dylan Casey, Conor Hehir, Mark Roche, Alan Roche, Mikey Dinan, Stephen Jordan, Ronan Kerin, Eliaz Kunz. Subs: James Tierney for P. Roche; Shane Brown for Hehir; Cian O’Dea for M. Roche; Eoghan Thynne for A. Roche; Gary Roche for R. Kerin

MERITED WIN FOR ENNIS TOWN Breska Rovers 1 Ennis Town 5

Ennis Town travelled to Clarina in Limerick where they had a comfortable win over Breska Rovers. Goals from Dean Hegarty (penalty) and Davy Keenan had the Ennis side 2-0 in front at half time. Breska Rovers pulled one back early in the second half but from here on the visitors dominated and added goals from Lee Clohessy and Dean Hegarty who had the last two to complete a hat trick on the day.

Ennis Town; Andrew Skerritt; Thomas Collins, Sean Perrill, Stephen Horgan, Chibby Okoye, Eoin Keenan, Dean Hegarty, Yasher Aliu, Lee Clohessy, Robbie Gormley, Davy Keenan. Subs: Lase Ifebajo for Okoye; Declan Ensko for Collins; Seun Olanrewaju for Gormley.

NEWMARKET BOW OUT Abbeyfeale 1 Newmarket Celtic 0

Newmarket Celtic bowed out of this seasons FAI junior cup when they were beaten 1-0 by Abbeyfeale, the goal coming midway through the first half. Newmarket had a couple of good scoring opportunities in the opening half but they failed to convert any of these. The home side took the lead through a header from six yards and this proved decisive.

SOCCER & GAA FIXTURES CAMOGIE Saturday October 23rd: U16 Championship U16A Cup Final Fr McNamara Park: Scariff Ogonnelloe v Inagh Kilnamona, 11.00am. Referee: Jim Hickey U16C Cup Final Clooney GAA: Eire Og v Corofin, 12.00pm. Referee: Kevin Corry U16C Shield Final Fr McNamara Park: Cratloe v Smith O’Briens, 2.15pm. Referee: Fergal O’Brien Sun 24th October Junior A Championship Ogonnelloe GAA: Scariff Ogonnelloe v Broadford, 11.00am COISTE NA NOG PEIL FIXTURES Friday October 22nd U14 Div 2 Wolfe Tones V Parteen at 18.30. Referee: K Harvey Cooraclare V Doonbeg. 19.30. Referee: B. Kelly Saturday Oct 23rd. (11 am) U14 Div 1 Doora Barefield V Ennistymon. Referee: D Keating. U14 Div 2 (11am unless stated) Banner V Clooney-Quin. Referee: P Howard Miltown V Clarecastle. Referee: B Shanahan Cratloe V Kilmurry Ib 1.30pm. Referee: R Harte U14 Div 3 Semi Final. (11am) Sh Gaels/Kilmihil V N Eoin/O’Curry’s/ Kilkee. Referee: G Wallace. Sun October 24th. U14 Div 1 Kilrush V Lissycasey 11am. Referee: J O’Connell U14 Div 3 Semi Final. Corofin V Kildysart/Coolmeen 11am. Referee: P O’Connell Mon October 25th. U14 Div 1 Clondegad V Eire Og 12noon. Referee: P Keane Extra time in all U14 games and result on the day to apply. Results on the day to 0872663718 COISTE NA NÓG IOMAINT Saturday October 23rd: Kerry Group U17 Hurling Championship 2021 U17 A Semi Final Clooney Quin v St Joseph’s Doora Barefield in Clarecastle at 11:00. Referee: Kevin Corry (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Inagh-Kilnamona v Clarecastle in Kilmaley at 14:00. Referee: Kieran Liddane (E.T. if Necessary & winner on the Day) U17 B Quarter Final Cratloe v Scariff/Ogonnelloe in Cratloe at 11:00. Referee: Jarlath Donnellan (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U17 A Shield Semi Final Sixmilebridge v Kilmaley in Sixmilebridge at 11:00. Referee: Rory McGann (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U17 B Shield Semi Final Feakle/Killanena v Broadford in Feakle at 14:00. Referee: Jim Hickey. (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Sunday October 24th: Kerry Group U17 Hurling Championship 2021 U17 C Semi Final Ennistymon v Newmarket on Fergus in Banner at 11:00. Referee: Andy McMahon (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Banner v Tulla in Clooney at 14:00. Referee: Joe Mullins.

(E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Clare Marts U13 Hurling Championship 2021 U13 A Shield Final Éire Óg v Kilmaley in Éire Óg Ennis at 10:30. Referee: Kieran Harvey. (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Kerry Group U17 Hurling Championship 2021 U17 B Quarter Final Clonlara v Corofin/Ruan in Clonlara at 14:00. Referee: Johnny Healy (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) Crusheen/Tubber v Smith O’Briens in Tubber at 16:00. Referee: Robert Harte. (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U17 A Shield Semi Final Éire Óg v Ballyea in Éire Óg Ennis at 16:00. Referee:: Gus Callaghan (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U14 Academy-A Round 1 St Joseph’s Doora Barefield v Clooney Quin in Gurteen at 11:00. Referee: Flann O’Reilly U14 A Quarter Finals Ballyea v St Joseph’s Doora Barefield in Ballyea at 17:00. Referee: Paul Howard (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the evening) Monday October 25th: Kerry Group U17 Hurling Championship 2021 U17 Academy A FINAL Inagh-Kilnamona v Ballyea in Éire Óg Ennis at 12:00. Referee: Niall Malone (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U17 Academy B FINAL Scariff/Ogonnelloe v Kilmaley in Kilkishen at 11:30. Referee: Andy McMahon (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) U17 B Quarter Final Parteen v Bodyke O Callaghans Mills in Parteen at 13:00. Referee: Fergal O’Brien (E.T. if Necessary & Winner on the Day) SOCCER Friday October 22nd: Maloney Hardware Premier League Cup Final: Avenue Utd A v Newmarket Celtic A in Frank Healy Park at 7:30pm. Referee: Pa Gleeson. Assistants: Paudie Hayes, Brian Punch. Saturday October 23rd: Anne Romer Florist First Division League Cup Final: Shannon Town B v Newmarket Celtic B in Frank Healy Park at 5:00pm. Referee: Trevor White Assistants: Shane Hayes, Julian Sandford. Brian Pyne Tiles Second Division League Cup Final: Connolly Celtic v Rhine Rovers in Frank Healy Park at 7:30pm. Referee: Michael Rock, Assistants: Shane Hayes, Julian Sandford Sunday October 24th: FAI U17 Cup Second Round: Shannon Town v St Brendans Park FC in Corrib Drive Shannon at 2:00pm. Referee: Pa Gleeson Bridge Utd v Fenit Samphires in Sixmilebridge at 2:00pm. Referee: Trevor White Avenue Utd v Newmarket Celtic in Roslevan at 11am: Referee: Michael Rock Bridge Celtic v Tulla Utd in Bridgetown at 2pm. Referee: Brian Punch Brownies Barbershop Third Division League Cup Final: Ennis Dons v Bunratty/Cratloe in Frank Healy Park at 12:00pm. Referee: Paudie Hayes. Assistants: Museliu Bashua, Sean Kenneally

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Scariff U14s sink rivals Ennis RFC NORTH MUNSTER LEAGUE Ennis 14 Scariff 36

SCARIFF RFC’s U14s have moved to second in the table after defeating Ennis in the North Munster League. On a big day for the East Clare club, best for the Titans in their home victory was Juan Villagram of Broadford, who was among the four try-scorers alongside Paddy Macken, Jack Minogue and Michael Vaughan. Next up for the Titans is Limerick club Bruff RFC.

Pictured left is the Scariff U14 side with their new set of jerseys kindly sponsored by the Mugivaan family

Seven wins for the Banner in Limerick

LAST Thursday night at Limerick Greyhound Stadium proved to be a prolific evening for the Banner contingent winning seven of the 12 races on the card. First off the mark was the ever-consistent Fergus Dolly who notched her fifth career success in 28.99 – this daughter of Laughil Blake and Ballyelan Comet is owned by Patrick Croinin from Meelick, The exceptional well-bred Blastoff Zara recorded her third career win for Drumline, Newmarket on Fergus, Leo McNulty, this daughter of Droopys Jet and Blastoff Annie led from the off to record 29.26. Tom Fitzgerald of Clonlara owned Ocean Hugo was to the fore to record a career best 28.88 – this was the strapping son of Laughil Blake and Ocean Clive’s fifth time in the winners enclosure. Cooraclare’s father and son team, Seamus and James McMahon presented Lissatouk Tom for an A5 contest and he duly obliged in 29.49 – this was a third career success for this son of Native Chimes and Glideaway Kate. An eight-career win was recorded by the Cratloe owned Confused Keggy, Gerard Manley’s charge was smartly away and led all the way to record 29.17. Keggy is a son of American sire Superior Product and Confused Breda. Well past his fifth birthday, Alberta Billy showcased there is plenty fuel left in the tank when he notched a sixth career win in 29.25, This son of Kinloch Brae and Tullovin Fire is trained by O’Callaghan Mills’ Donal Cooney and is owned by Donal’s sons Ciaran and Darren Cooney. And well renowned greyhound enthusiast, Tim Keane from Shannon was smiling when Lissatouk Ben, despite breaking

slowly finished strongly for a fifth career win 29.34, Ben is a son of Holdem Spy and Lissatouk Dolly. The opening contest in Galway on Friday was an A6 graded contest in which the Pat Hogan of Ennis owned Aulton Messi, trained by Seamus Fahy, crossed the line eleven and a half lengths clear of Rosshill Holly in a crew best 28.98. In the S6 graded contest, the Niall O’Riordan owned Non Stop showed plenty of pace and the Stephen Murray of Sixmilebridge trained daughter of Shaneboy Lee & Raficky eased clear to defeat Traceys Tiger by three & a half lengths in 19.50. The Sixmilebridge trainer was back in the winners enclosure on Saturday at the same venue after the second semi-final of the Heathlawn Kennels A3 Yards Sweepstake, here the blue jacketed Kilballyowen Boy owned by Sean O’Riordan of Shannon (son of Laughill Blake & Bright Ella) led all the way and kept on well to score by a length and three parts in 31.74. Gort owner John Quinn introduced a nice newcomer in the Novice 525 yards contest as his Fast Fit Wild never saw another rival as he stormed to a nine and a half length success over Giddyupgar in 29.48. In the concluding A3 graded contest the Ger Manley of Cratloe owned Confused Hassett moved through on the leaders inside to poke his head in front on the crown of the home bend and would not be denied prevailing by a length in 29.16. In race six, the Denis Gould of Cree owned Cree Sydney made it two wins from four career starts in this S3 graded contest as he led off the home bend to outpoint the early paced Peteles Lady by two and a half lengths in 19.29.

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Club week a great success for Dromoland by SEAMUS HAYES DROMOLAND GOLF CLUB: Dromoland Castle golf club hosted their annual club week last week and it proved to be a tremendous success with great scoring in a variety of competitions. The week started with a club singles which was won by Enda Finnucane with 41 points from Joe Walsh with 39 points. Tuesday’s team of four competition was won by Jean Colleran, Katrina O’Neill, Shane Collins and Brian Arthur with 97 points. They had two to spare over Brian Sheedy, Vincent Sherlock, Seamus Lawlor and Eddie King with Ronan Cooney, Gavin, Oisin and Darren Reilly two points further back in third spot. Wednesday’s singles competition was won by Tony Byrne with 41 points from Ciaran O’Donoghue with 40 and Damian O’Malley, also with 40 points. In the champagne scramble the winners with 126 points were Gary, Eamonn and Mark O’Brien and Enda Cregg. In second place with 118 points were Eoin and Ruairi Brislane, Eamonn Kelly and Kevin Cummins. They were followed by Robin Mounsey, Dyan Brown, Darragh Healy and Harry Ward with 117 points. The competition on Friday was a singles which was won by Laurence Neil with 43 points from Keith Coyle with 41 and Jamie Kavanagh with 39. The weekend’s strokeplay competition off the white tees was won by Tony Higgins with 65 from Noel O’Brien with 68 and Enda Finnucane with 71. A similar competition off the blue tees was won by Ryan Enright with 72, Diarmuid O’Connor with 73 and Gavin Reilly with 74. In the ladies 9 hole the club plus putter competition the winner was Geraldine Ryan with 19 points from Siobhan Fitzpatrick with a similar score. Joan Ryan was third with 18 points followed by Patricia O’Brien with 17 points. ENNIS GOLF CLUB: Last week’s Ennis ladies seniors competition was won by Claire Kennelly, Brid Cunningham and Kathleen Pyne with 52 1/5 points from Betty 0’Riordan, Mary Murray and Ann Ca-

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New buggy paths sponsored by Ei Electronics have been unveiled at Shannon Golf Club. Plaudits have been extended to CEO of Ei Electronics Mick Guinee and Ei Manufacturing Manager Paul Kilbridge for their involvement in the upgrades. Captain of Shannon Golf Club, Keith Buckley praised Mick for his “phenomenal” support of the region and the generosity shown by Paul and the entire company.

sey with 52 2/3 points with third spot filled by Framces O’Reilly, Mary Gardiner and Carmel Verling with 53 2/5 points.

LAHINCH GOLF CLUB: Entries are being taken for the Paddy Leyden trophy winter matchplay competition at Lahinch. The format is fourball matchplay and all matches will be played on the championship course off the green tee markers. The draw will be made on November 1st and round one must be completed by November 14th. Closing date for entries is Friday October 29th. CLARE/GALWAY SENIORS:

The Clare/Galway seniors alliance will hold their last outing of the season on Monday November 1 at Ennis when the tee will be available from 8.30am to 1p.m.and to book a tee time contact Ennis golf club

WOODSTOCK GOLF CLUB: Pat Keane (14) was the winner of the club singles at Woodstock at the weekend with 43 points. Mike Reen (8) won category 1 with 40 points, Pat O’Brien (18) won category 2 with 43 points and Raymond Grogan (28) won category 3 with 42 points. There will be a club singles competition this weekend. Meanwhile there has been a great response to the Autumn league and the deadline for entries has been extended to this Sunday, October 24. The league will begin on the weekend of October 30/31. KILRUSH GOLF CLUB: The men’s competition at Kilrush golf club at the weekend was for the Whelan prize and the winner was Brian Scanlan (11) with 43 points. He had two to spare over David Abbott (17) with third spot filled by Finbarr McMahon (20), also with 41 points. George Nolan (14) won division 1 with 41 points, Patrick Coleman (16) won division 2 with 36 points and John Stapleton (21) took the division 3 honours with 38 points. SHANNON GOLF CLUB: In the men’s green tee challenge at Shannon last week, Ian Fox (4) was the winner with 46 points from John Burns (20) who had a similar score. Eric Daly (21) was third with 43 points followed by Declan Collins (28), also with 43

points. Ed Hickey (scratch) won the gross with 35 points. The men’s 9 hole singles competition was won by Michael McInerney (9) with 22 points. The autumn league continues this week when the format will be scotch foursomes.

PORTUMNA GOLF CLUB: Monica Cormican (35) was the winner of the ladies weekly competition at Portumna with 43 points. Vera Smyth (10) was second with 35 points followed by Patricia Rowland (6) with 34 points. The senior section was won by Dagmar Ullrich-Werner (28) with 33 points. BANNER CLASSIC: Banner GAA club in Ennis held a very successful fundraising golf classic recently at Woodstock when the winners were Tony and Eilis Neville, Liam O’Connor and P.J. Carmody. They were followed by Tony Nugent, Kieran Drummy, Seamus Kelly and Nick Germaine with third spot filled by Greg, Jason and John Dormer and Colm Byrne. Mark Duffy won the prize for nearest the pin while Shane Cusack was the longest drive winner. CLARECASTLE SOCIETY OUTING: Noel Connellan with an impressive score of 44 points, was the winner of a recent Clarecastle society outing at the Castle course in Lahinch. Pake Murtagh was second with 43 points beating Pat Healy with a similar score into third place. Tom Coughlan was fourth with 42 points and Frank Conway fifth with 40 points. The nines’ winners were Liam Barry and Paul Higgins. The society’s next outing is to Ennis on Saturday November 13.

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

CLUNE

Pauline (née O’Connell) Quin Gardens, Quin, Co. Clare Who passed on 27th September 2021 Pauline’s family, husband Michael, sons Seamus and Conor, daughters-inlaw Deirdre and Sinead, grandchildren Aoife and Daragh, along with her brothers and sister and her extended family wish to acknowledge and thank everyone who sympathised with us on the sad loss of our beloved wife, mother, grandma, sister and friend. Pauline had a huge number of friends and a heartfelt thanks to all of you who were a great support over the past weeks. For all those who provided food and refreshments, we thank you dearly for your kindness and generosity. We were comforted by the huge volume of calls, messages, sympathy cards, online condolences, floral tributes, people who called to the house and those who attended the funeral mass in person and online. We would like to thank the wonderful staff in St. Vincent’s Hospital, especially all of the team in the ICU, who could not have been more kind and compassionate. Our sincere thanks to Fr Brian Quinn, Fr Harry Brady, Fr Tom Ryan and Fr Martin O’Brien who celebrated Pauline’s final mass. Many thanks to Una and Ellen for the beautiful music during the ceremony. Thank you David and Daniel from Kennedy’s Funeral Directors for ensuring everything went smoothly. Thanks to the gravediggers who prepared Pauline’s final resting place. As it is impossible to thank everyone individually, please accept this acknowledgment as an expression of our deepest gratitude. Pauline’s Month’s Mind will be celebrated on Sunday 24th October 2021 at 11.00am in St. Mary’s Church, Quin and can be viewed on http://www.quinclooneymagheraparish.ie/webcam/

PLANNING NOTICES CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL MOYRIESK, QUIN , CO CLARE EIRCODE V95 YV57 Take notice that Grainne O’Brien and Adrian Boyle intend to apply for: 1. P E R M I S S I O N to RETAIN the Storage Shed to the rear of the Creamery Building & 2. P E R M I S S I O N to change the use of the Creamery Building to a Private Dwelling & 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 CO. COUNCIL DRUMMOD, BODYKE, CO.CLARE Permission for the construction of a dwelling house, garage, treatment unit and all associated site works is being sought by Edele Hughes. 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, Áras 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 in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL DARRAGH NORTH, 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 COS Wholesale Ltd for permission to a) part demolish, renovate & extend existing commercial building to create 2 No. commercial retail units, b) construct addition car parking spaces and boundary walls 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 DECOMADE, LISSYCASEY, 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 & Marie Melican for permission to a) decommission and remove existing septic tank b) install an advanced 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 GRANAGHAN BEG, NEWMARKET ON FERGUS, 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 Neal McDonagh for permission to construct an entrance, dwelling house, garage, wastewater treatment system with 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 COLMANSTOWN, LABASHEEDA, CO. CLARE Take notice that Justin McNamara is applying to Clare County Council for planning permission to demolish an existing hay barn, construct a new dwelling house and private garage, link with an existing entrance and access road and install a new wastewater treatment system along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL KILKERRIN, LABASHEEDA, CO CLARE Take notice that Irene

Schmidt is applying for retention permission for the construction of an extension to an existing dwelling along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL CAPPALAHEEN, KILKISHEN, CO CLARE Take notice that Rachel & Jamie Loughnane are applying for planning permission to construct new dwelling house, private garage, new entrance, sewerage treatment facilities and all associated works along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE CO. COUNCIL MUCKINISH, SPANCILHILL, CO. CLARE. Take notice that Ronan O Connor intends to apply for permission for development, the development will consist of a part material change of use from a farm store, currently used as a farm store to a light engineering workshop and associated site works at the above address. The planning application maybe inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening

PLANNING 51

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.

LEGAL NOTICES AN CHUIRT DUICHE THE DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT COURT AREA OF KILRUSH DISTRICT NO 12 CONFIRMATION OF TRANSFER APPLICATION OF Elaine Marrinan of Marrinan’s Bar, O’Connell Street, Kilkee in the County of Clare TAKE NOTICE that application will be made to the Judge of the District Court sitting at Kilrush District Court, sitting at Ennis District Court Courthouse Ennis within the District Court Area aforesaid on the occasion of the adjourned sitting Annual Licensing District Court on 10.30am on the 16th of November 2021 on behalf of Elaine Marrinan of Marrinan’s Bar, O’Connell Street, Kilkee in the County of Clare for a Certificate of confirmation of Transfer of the ordinary seven day publican’s Licence attached to the premises known as Marrinan’s Bar O’Connell Street, Kilkee Co. Clare and District Court Area aforesaid. AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that Application will be made at the same time in accordance with the provisions of Section 30 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1927 for transfer of the said Licence freed and discharged from any indorsements against, or records of offences committed by the former Licencee. Dated the 5th day of October 2021. Signed Joseph A Chambers, Solicitor for the Applicants, Frances Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. TO: District Court Clerk, The Courthouse, Ennis, Co Clare. Superintendents Office Garda Siochana, Kilrush, Co. Clare. The Fire Officer, Clare County Council, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare

52 CLASSIFIEDS

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54 PUZZLEPAGE

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

THIS WEEKS PUZZLES OCT 21

WORD SEARCH

10/15/21, 11:46 AM

SUDOKU 3

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Burgundy Cardinal

Carmine

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How to play

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

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The Clare Echo Crossword

1/1

Daily Quick Crossword: 15 October 2021, 10/15/2021 Michael Curl

A N N O Y

ranted

D A N G E R

M A T

anada

how

n country 1

C I

H 2

A L G E R 3

O T

I I

T R E I

S P

L A Y

R 5

T A W A

N A

T O R M

N E E

E I

A D M 6

H I

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QUIZ 55

THURSDAY, OCT 21 2021

The Clare Echo Quiz

CLARE’S HURLING ALL STARS

All-Stars were preceded by How many Clare hurlers have 1theThe the Cú Chulainn Awards, who was 6 been named as the Young Hurler of the Year? first Clare man to win such an accolade? A: B: C:

Pat Cronin John Joe Doyle Jimmy Smyth

Who was the first Clare man to receive an All Star award?

A. B: C:

Ger Loughnane Sean Stack John Callinan

A: One B: Three C: Six

Two men have won All Star 7 awards and managed Clare to All-Ireland glory, name them?

A: Ger Loughnane and Anthony Daly B: Ger Loughnane and Davy Fitzgerald C: Ger Loughnane and Brian Lohan

1978 All Star winner, Noel Casey Goalkeeper Seamus Durack 8 is from which club? 3 collected All Star awards in 1977, 1978 and 1981. He hurled with both

Feakle Newmarket-on-Fergus Clooney/Quin

Three Clare players have been named Hurler of the Year, Tony Kelly, Jamesie O’Connor and who? A: B: C:

Anthony Daly Brian Lohan Davy Fitzgerald

O’Callaghans Mills Kilmaley Sixmilebridge

All Stars have 9Inbeentotal,wonhowby many Clare hurlers? A: B: C:

36 43 52

In which All-Ireland winning year did Clare claim its least amount of All Stars?

Photograph: Eamon Ward

A: 1995 B: 1997 C: 2013

Only one set of brothers have won All-Stars for Clare, who are they? A: B: C:

l Seamus Durack

The Collins’ The Lohans The Galvins

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

ANSWERS

6. One (Tony Kelly) 7. Ger Loughnane and Davy Fitzgerald 8. Sixmilebridge 9. 52 10. 1997

A: B: C:

1. Jimmy Smyth 2. Ger Loughnane 3. Newmarket-on-Fergus 4. Brian Lohan 5. The Lohans (Brian and Frank)

Feakle and Éire Óg. He has managed two clubs at senior level in Clare over the past fifteen years, Éire Óg and who?

Last weeks Answers . apostrophe missing on Pepper’s Bar . Gary’s collar different colour . Ruths pendant missing . Window frame different colour

. Fiddle plaque missing . Peppers on the barell missing . Gary’s logo missing on jumper

Ronan Monahan bursts through a gap in the Smith O’Briens defence. Photograph: Ruth Griffin

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