The Clare Echo 22/04/21 by The Clare Echo

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69% want pedestrian plan for Ennis

Appetite for pedestrianisation exists but businesses split on Mobility Plan STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

UGE appetite exists amongst the public and sectors of the business community to see more pedestrian spaces in Ennis in the future. Two online surveys conducted by The Clare Echo, taken by more than 500 members of the public and 69 business owners based in the town centre, found that some 69 per cent of the public want some form of pedestrianisation planned for in the future.

Some 49 per cent of business owners want to see a pedestrianisation plan in place while 40 per cent are against any such initiatives. The findings come as the Temporary Covid-19 Town Centre Mobility Plan is under review by its multi-agency steering group, as Government restrictions begin to soften and transmission rates slow. Clare County Council have stressed that the mobility plan was only introduced in response to COVID-19 to ensure social distancing was possible in the town, however some business owners

in the town have disputed the reasoning behind the move. Ennis Chamber of Commerce President Darragh McAllister, stressed on RTÉ’s Six One on Sunday that the mobility plan “was put in as a temporary feature to deal with Covid, and it would be wrong to assume that because it’s there in a pandemic and a lockdown is in any way a sign of how things might be in the future, and it [pedestrianisation] would have to be put to public consultation.”

lSTREETS APART: Many within the business community are highly frustrated with the mobility plan and are calling for the streets to be open to traffic immediately

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THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

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LAURA’S LEGACY CONTINUES

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

l A MOMENT TO REFLECT: Bernie and Larry Brennan, parents of the late HPV advocate Laura Brennan, beside the new Clare GAA kit van which now adorns the HPV vaccine logo and the #thankyoulaura hashtag; (inset) Bernie and Larry are joined by Clare Senior Hurling manager Brian Lohan and Senior Camogie captain Clare Hehir outside Shiels Garage, Ennis, the vehicle sponsors Photo by John Mangan

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Demanding Better Cyber Security

Interest brewing to bring cinema back to Scariff PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

FFORTS are to be made to bring the Astor Cinema back to life in the centre of Scariff. Interest in the development of the facility was first piqued after publication of the Government’s Rural Development Policy for 2021 to 2025. The plan raises the prospect of turning pubs into remote working hubs and also to transform derelict community buildings into community venues. Already identified as an opportunity site in the current County Development Plan, renewed potential for the Astor Cinema can be realised as part of the rural policy, a former Chairman of Tourism East Clare outlined. Opened in 1947, the Astor Cinema stayed in operation until 1968. It served as a temporary secondary school and was a ballroom with bingo also held in the facility. The Astor hosted the East Clare Drama Festival up until the 1980s. The Clare Echo understands that the building on the main street of Scariff is currently in private ownership. Approach-

es have been made on an individual basis in the past regarding the prospect of a new use for the Astor but it is felt within Scariff that a community approach may be more successful. “It beholds us to bring this building back from the dead, currently it is dead, it used to be heart of the town and it could be again,” Eoin O’Hagan stated. Speaking to The Clare Echo, the Scariff Bay Community Radio presenter highlighted its potential use as a performance space, for local groups, the drama festival, schools, as an art centre or for remote working. He added, “Potentially it could be a huge thing for the community of East Clare to have the cinema back. People will say about the asbestos on roof but that has been dealt with before by specialists. Another issue people will highlight in parking in Scariff. We have lots of parking in Scariff, we just have issues with people who abandon cars and are not parking properly”. Public ownership of the facility needs to be explored, Eoin believed. “It could become a huge thing for the town.” he stated and referenced the expected increase in visitors to East Clare once the Shannon Greenway is completed. “People met and married in the dance hall.”

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

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THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Action needed to tackle online hatred PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

l CYBER SAFETY: Molly Cantwell

Photo by John Mangan

QUIN student has said highlighting online hatred has become more important with an increased amount of activities occurring in cyber space since the start of the pandemic. Molly Cantwell is currently studying journalism and digital media at the University of Limerick. Last year she concluded her studies at the Limerick College of Further Education studying Advanced Broadcasting and Media Production, a notable highlight seeing her nominated for a national student media award for the documentary she produced, ‘Cyber Killer Qu’est-ce Que C’est’. Online hatred is explored in the docu-

mentary with Molly posing the question as to why members of the public hate online, the consequences of this type of abuse and to put a stop to it. Internet education and better knowledge on mental health impacts of online abuse are also flagged. Including internet safety as part of the curriculum at primary and second level is an argument put forward in the documentary. This according to Molly “would provide an opportunity to lessen the amount of hate that occurs online and therefore reduce the amount of cyberbullying related suicides we see in Ireland. Bringing in an online safety commissioner in Ireland could also be another solution to this problem”. Jackie Fox, mother of the late Nicole Fox affectionately known as Coco is a contributor to Cyber Killer Qu’est-ce Que C’est. The documentary tells how Jackie has fought to make Coco’s Law a reality. “When I first read about Nicole’s

story I was inspired to help in some way. As part of my college course in Limerick College of Further Education I had to make a radio documentary and this story struck a chord. Cyberbullying and online hate is so prominent in our society and so frequently people take their lives because of it,” Molly told The Clare Echo. Speaking to Jackie was the hardest interview Molly completed to date. “It is a story that needs to be heard so people realise the consequences of their online actions. Just because it’s online doesn’t make it any less hurtful and in reality it can lead to people taking their lives”. Molly maintained, “A documentary like this, highlighting online hatred, I think is particularly important now during this pandemic where everything is online. This is the most important time, I feel, to bring in Coco’s Law and make sure that we keep the people in our country safe”.

Discussion on levy for extraction of Lough Derg water to Dublin raises tempers among Clare councillors LOCAL councillors clashed over calls to set up a financial levy “if and when” water from Lough Derg is abstracted to Dublin, writes Páraic McMahon. Offence was taken and apologies were issued as Clare councillors debated the merits of requesting a funding mechanism from Government in association for Irish Water if the go ahead is given to the project. Lough Derg will be connected with the Peamount Reservoir as part of 170km long pipeline which will have the capacity to carry 330 million litres of water per day and will start at the Parteen Basin. The project is esti-

mated to cost €1.3bn. At Monday’s adjourned meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) opted to withdraw his motion following considerable opposition from East Clare representatives who coined the thinking behind it as “premature”. Rural Clare’s growth would benefit from an annual €10m fund, Cllr Flynn believed of his proposed financial levy. He appealed to the County Council to request both the Government and Irish Water to establish a funding mechanism to levy a charge on an ongoing basis such as a proportional percentage cent per litre of abstracted water resulting in

an annual fund for the lifetime of the scheme. Towns and villages without sewerage treatments could benefit from the levy, he maintained. Speaking at the meeting, the Ennis representative clarified, “I’m not saying it should proceed or not”. He outlined, “water is a vital service which underpins our social and economic growth into the future”. Dublin City’s water has a leak rate of 57 per cent, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) flagged as he seconded the proposal. “I’ve always believed local authorities should be properly funded to fix the infrastructure. My colleague is trying to prepare the ground

for if and when this happens”. Certain elements of the motion had merit, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) stated but admitted he could not support Flynn’s request. “Creaking infrastructure” exists in Clare, he added and referenced the lack of plans for Broadford, O’Briensbridge and Killaloe. He criticised the lack of communication from Irish Water, “we’ve had no real briefings for a long time from anybody, all we’ve heard is press releases”. Support of the motion from the Council would serve as an intention to support the project, he felt. “Cllr Flynn is saying give them the asset and they might give back the infrastructure. Cllr Flynn in Shannon said about leaking water in Dublin but we’re still going to pump it up to them”. “I won’t beat around the bush, I’m totally opposed to this motion. Taking the Queen’s shilling seems to come to mind,” Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) commented. “Scant regard” for Clare has been shown by Irish Water, he believed. He asked the motion be withdrawn. “It is certainly premature at the very best”. At least 10 villages in East Clare are currently without water infrastructure, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) stated. “It is outrageous that Irish Water would take water from Lough Derg and not put basic water infrastructure in place for villages here”. He

l SERVICES: Lough Derg continued, “Irish Water have a lot to deliver for East Clare before we can consider the extraction of water from Lough Derg”. Possible benefits and financial gain were referenced in the debate but not the concerns in East Clare, Cllr Pat Burke (FG) noted. He cited potential environmental and tourism damage. “We had a serious drought in 2018, I am not a scientist, engineer or environmentalist but I shudder to think if there was a drought situation again and Dublin needed water we would suffer”. Intentions of the motion were backed by Cllr Michael Begley (IND) but he sided with those opposed as the implications of the project were not clear enough. Reacting to the views expressed, Cllr Johnny Flynn insisted it was not premature. “This is not the Queen’s shilling and I feel a little offended by the references made,” he admit-

ted. “This is a proposal that would ensure Clare County Council receive €5m a year for 100 years to ensure itself as a 25% investment”. He underlined the potential to generate another €15m in Government funds. Cllr O’Brien then apologised for causing offence but reiterated that pushing ahead with the motion “sends the wrong signal”. He said, “Irish Water are a screen for the Government not to accept responsibility, they do the same with the NTA in transport and the HSE with health”. “I want to make it quite clear, I’m not a supporter of Irish Water, it has been a disaster,” Cllr Gerry Flynn stated. He welcomed the apology from Cllr O’Brien, “it would have hurt me and my family in West Clare, we never took the Queen’s shilling, it was quite nasty”. In light of the opposition, Cllr Johnny Flynn agreed to withdraw the proposal.

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

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Gardai work on safety in Newmarket AN GARDA Síochána insist they are working to make Newmarket-on-Fergus “as safe as environment as possible”. Concerns have been expressed within the village on the sale and supply of drugs taking place. It follows the recent seizure of €20,000 worth of cannabis and a serious assault which was also connected to the person involved in the possession of the drugs. Residents of Newmarket-on-Fergus have told The Clare Echo that an increased amount of Garda visits to different properties had been visible in recent weeks. When asked by The Clare Echo if specific persons of interests were being monitored in the locality, Insp Paul Slattery stated that “specific Garda operations “will not be discussed”. He added, “In relation to recent matters in the village, Gardai are continuing to investigate matters, have made an arrest and as a result of a follow-up operation, made a significant drug seizure. Gardai will continue to engage with members of the community in an effort to assist communities to be as safe an environment as possible”. Insp Slattery encouraged Newmarket-on-Fergus residents to contact Gardaí in relation to any concerns they may have. “We thank the communities who continue to support An Garda Siochana’s efforts to make communities safer for all”.

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park reopens

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

UNRATTY Castle and Folk Park is to reopen next Friday (April 30). A lifting of restrictions for outdoor heritage sites has led to the planned reopening. The Folk Park will be open four days a week initially for residents of Co Clare and Limerick people living within 20 kilometres of the popular attraction. €550,000 in funding from the Department of Transport was allocated to Shannon Heritage to keep Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and King John’s Castle open from September until the end of 2020. Bunratty has been closed since the beginning of this year. No detail on a planned reopening of Craggaunowen has been released by Shannon Group Shannon Heritage has been awarded accreditation from Fáilte Ireland for its COVID-19

l FAMILY FUN: The Meehan family from Newmarket-on-Fergus at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

safety measures. There are a series of measures in place to ensure the health and safety of visitors and staff. Set on 26 acres of Clare countryside, there is plenty of space for social distancing. The 19th century themed Folk Park features a living village and rural setting as it would have appeared

during the time of our ancestors. Musical entertainment has been put in place and the Folk Park’s animators dressed in 19th century costumes are looking forward to sharing their stories with visitors. Among these will be the village policeman, schoolteacher and doctor. Meabh and Saoirse, Bunratty’s

resident wolfhounds are among the array of animals in the Folk Park. Although the Castle will remain closed, Castle guides will be on hand to give the history of the Castle from its courtyard while Mr O’Regan’s Café will be open for takeaway food & drink. All visitors are required to pre book at bunrattycastle.ie. To ensure proper social distancing, a one-way system has been designed to guide visitors around the Folk Park. “This year has been incredibly difficult for everyone and we know that people are looking forward to exploring their county. We are delighted to reopen Bunratty Folk Park and look forward to extending a warm welcome to all our visitors. With the Covid safety measures we have in place at Bunratty visitors can be assured of a safe, fun and memorable experience. We are hopeful that following the next easing of restrictions we will be able to reopen our indoor attractions,” Vanessa McTigue of Shannon Heritage commented.

Aer Lingus ‘forgotten its country of origin’ PUBLIC CONSULTATION NOTICE ART DATA CENTRES

PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

ART DATA CENTRES WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE THAT THEY WILL BE MAKING AVAILABLE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC ON THIS PROJECT LOCATED AT JUNCTION 13, TOUREEN, SPANCILHILL, ENNIS IN THE COMING WEEKS. DUE TO RESTRICTIONS IN RELATION TO PUBLIC MEETINGS BECAUSE OF COVID 19, WE WILL BE PROVIDING A VIRTUAL EXHIBITION SPACE TO COMMUNICATE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PLANS TO THE PUBLIC. THE INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM FRIDAY 23RD APRIL 2021 ON THE FOLLOWING LINK, DEVELOPMENT & PROJECT MANAGERS TOM MCNAMARA & PARTNERS 57 PARNELL STREET, ENNIS. TEL: 065 6864578 EMAIL: info@tommcnamara.ie

LARE councillors are “worried” with the thought process of Aer Lingus management and the potential impact for the airline’s employees at Shannon Airport. No Aer Lingus flights have operated at Shannon since April 2020. At the beginning of March, Aer Lingus announced it was to temporarily lay-off its 129 ground and cabin crew staff at Shannon Airport until June. In a proposal before Monday’s adjourned meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) urged the local authority to “alert” the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan (GP) and the Government “to the potential downside for Shannon Airport and Aer Lingus staff in this region arising from the developing of the airline Manchester hub and demand strong government action to avert a crisis.” Recent weeks saw Aer Lingus announce its first transatlantic services direct from Manchester to the US and the Caribbean. It will launch four new routes from Manchester Airport to New York JFK and Orlando from July 29 and will also start flying from Manchester to Barbados in October; and to Boston from summer 2022. Following negotiations between Aer Lingus management and workers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports, Cllr McMahon said it was his “major surprise” that only the Shannon staff were let go.

Stressing that he did not want to be negative, the Newmarket-on-Fergus native admitted “the future for Shannon is not looking great” with the risk of “huge unemployment prospects” in hospitality, car hires and transport businesses consequently. A big question mark hangs over the return of Aer Lingus’ Heathrow routes at Shannon, McMahon felt. “The silence from management is deafening,” he stated. Shannon Airport is a major selling point for the IDA in the Mid-West, he flagged. The former shopowner expressed his sympathy for Shannon Group CEO, Mary Considine and the task she has on her hands. Leas Cathaoirleach of the County Council, Cllr Pat Burke (FG) acknowledged his counterpart for being “always passionate about Shannon’s future”. Emphasis on the word International in Shannon Airport’s title must not be forgotten, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) remarked. “We’ve never had as many Oireachtas members but I think they need to be more forceful to protect what we have and enhance the project. It is so vital that we have a thriving International Airport in Shannon and to protect Western seaboard,” the Shannon representative added. The 2015 decision of the Government to sell its 25 percent share in Aer Lingus to IAG was bemoaned by Cllr PJ Ryan (IND). He believed Aer Lingus has “forgotten its country of origin”. He continued, “Aer Lingus are only about making profit, they have no allegiance to anyone.” Support for the motion was voiced by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) who commended Cllr McMahon for highlighting the matter.

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THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Backlog for medical assessments fuelling anxiety by PÁRAIC McMAHON

VERCROWDING at the region’s main hospital has not gone away despite the onset of a pandemic, a Barefield representative has flagged while up to 90 per cent of patients have been waiting for over a year for scheduled care which is causing anxiety within the county. Acknowledging that COVID-19 has “taken over our lives for the past year,” Cllr Ann Norton (IND) questioned health officials to determine if all beds at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) were open to cater for the numbers going through the emergency department. She queried if plans were in place for later in 2021 “when the winter programme comes in, are ye ready for the overcrowding, it hasn’t gone away and the reality is COVID has overshadowed it,” the Barefield representative outlined. Ninety-eight additional beds are open at UHL and are to be utilised, Chief Clinical Director of UL Hospitals Group, Prof Brian Lenehan detailed. “We have an escalation plan which is live 365 days of the year,” trolleys remain a feature of this, he said. “We work on it daily and it is a challenge, it is not our wish to have trolleys. Since March of last year, we have not had a single trolley on the wards of UHL, any trolleys reported on were in acute admission areas”. Speaking at a briefing with Clare councillors, Chief Officer with Mid West Community Healthcare, Maria Bridgeman admitted, “there is no doubt that we had waiting lists ever before COVID. They’ve been added to now and we have to find a way of working past that”. She predicted the coming weeks would be “very telling” to determine if Easter, the return of schools and easing of restrictions has an impact on COVID-19 cases. Attendances for unscheduled care at UHL dipped in early March and April of 2020 but quickly returned to “near normal levels,” Prof Lenehan stated. He flagged that in the region of 90 per cent of patients are waiting to be seen for a year or longer for scheduled care. Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) also asked what plans were in place to deal with the backlogs for assessments and the cancellation of appointments which had caused a lot of anxiety among his constituents. The Shannon representative believed the HSE should consider providing health facilities for seriously ill persons that need support and increased access to medical cards. “We are working to provide areas where services can be provided,” Bridgeman replied. She said that additional access to medical cards is dealt with nationally by PCRS.

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Two year wait for wheelchair access by PÁRAIC Mc MAHON A CLARE councillor has said assessments for wheelchairs are out of date by the time funding from the HSE has been provided. Former Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Ann Norton (IND) speaking at a briefing with health officials from the Mid-West declared, “the waiting list for equipment is gone through the roof ” She claimed that it was taking between eighteen months to two years before groups were able to access a wheelchair. “By the time you have the assessment done and the quotation is gone into the HSE, the assessment is out of date by the time HSE fund it”. Norton queried if a new initiative was to be assessed. Work is underway, Chief Officer with Mid West Community Healthcare, Maria Bridgeman replied. Funding has been allocated to support an addressing of assessment of need. A need officer for the Clare area has been recruited, she confirmed with efforts “almost complete” to deal with the backlog.

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Clare vaccination centre opens ahead of schedule PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

lOPEN FOR BUSINESS: The first to get the Covid-19 vaccine at Treacy’s West County was Peter Gerry Earls from Sixmilebridge who is pictured here with vaccinator Catherine Fogarty

LARE’S COVID-19 vaccination has opened ahead of schedule. On Wednesday, the vaccination centre at the West County Hotel saw its first batch of vaccines administered. Initially, the centre was due to open on Monday (April 26). Both Treacy’s West County and the Abbey Court Hotel (Tipperary) will be open on a phased basis scaling up in line with availability of vaccines. Along with the centre at the Radisson Blu Limerick, the facilities form a tripartite vaccination network to accelerate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine in the MidWest. Activity at the Ennis and Nenagh centres commenced with the 65-69 age group who have been registering in considerable numbers since the opening of the HSE online registration portal last Thursday. Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group and Chair of the Mid-

West Integrated Covid 19 Vaccination Steering Group confirmed that over 130,000 people in the 65-69-year-old cohort around the country have already registered for their Covid-19 vaccination. With work ongoing at the Radisson Blu Limerick to vaccinate the Group 4 cohort of patients at very high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, the opening of the Ennis and Nenagh centres coincides with the move to Group 5 (people

aged 65-69 at high risk) and Group 6 (other people aged 65-69). People can register online at https://vaccine.hse.ie/, and they will be asked for their mobile phone number, email address, PPS number and Eircode. Telephone registration is also available at HSELive on 1850-24-1850 for those unable to register online, and there are options for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Once registered, people will receive their vaccination ap-

pointments from next week. Appointments will be assigned by age. Anyone in the 65-69 age group will be vaccinated using COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, which has been approved for use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), in keeping with the strictest standards of safety and quality. It is recommended for use in people aged over 60 and licensed by regulators. Dr Denis O’Keeffe, Consultant Haematologist at University Hospital Limerick, said the risk of falling seriously ill with COVID-19 was far greater than any risk that the AstraZeneca vaccine might present to those in the 65-69 age group. “The evidence would suggest that the clotting incidences reported are an extremely rare complication. For patients in this age group, the risk from COVID-19 and the risk of clotting when you get sick with the disease, is significantly higher than the risk of clotting reported as associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.

OUTDOOR SEATING & ACCESSORIES FOR TOURISM & HOSPITALITY BUSINESS’ SCHEME Clare County Council is pleased to announce that the Outdoor Seating & Accessories for Tourism & Hospitality Business’ scheme is now open for 2021 online applications. The purpose of this Scheme is to provide a level of financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses, in our town centres, to purchase or upgrade equipment to provide additional outdoor seating and, therefore, increase their outdoor dining capacity for the summer of 2021. This scheme will financially assist and support independent tourism and hospitality business owners to create outdoor dining experiences in a regulated and accessible manner. Funding under the scheme is only available to existing businesses. All applicants will be required to comply with planning codes, legislative requirements, and other compliance requirements. Commercial rates due in respect of premises have been paid for the period up to 31st December 2019 or a payment plan is in place with Clare County Council. Street Furniture Licence fees will be waived this year to support the efforts of businesses to increase their seating capacity while enabling social distancing. The scheme is open to attractions, hotels, restaurants, cafes, public houses or other tourism and hospitality business establishments where food is sold for consumption on the premises. Items which are considered eligible for the scheme: • • • •

Tables Chairs Umbrellas Electric heaters

• • •

Screens/windbreaks Plant stands Wooden Platform

Online applications will be accepted. Online applications can be made from 9am, Thursday, 22nd April 2021. The Closing Date for submission of online applications is 5pm, 30th September 2021. The Online Application system and scheme guidelines can be accessed from the website at: https://www.clarecoco.ie/services/community/grants/ Enquiries can be made by email to tourism@clarecoco.ie

NEWS 9

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

English language classes getting Direct Provision residents talking CIAN O’BROIN cian@clareecho.ie

MIGRANTS in Clare are using the lockdown to improve their English, whilst also making friends from new online faces. This community project, run by Clare PPN network’s initiative Fáilte Isteach, which works with migrants to break down barriers by offering a helping hand, caters for all levels of English language proficiency, from beginners to very advanced. A team of 25 locally trained volunteer tutors deliver the classes over Zoom, where participants meet and then break out into smaller groups, where the emphasis is placed on open conversation.

Classes originally commenced in March 2020 through the Ennis Welcomes Everyone support group set up for the men living within the Clare Lodge Direct Provision Centre. Physical classes began in the park in Ennis, before moving to the Maria Assumpta Hall and now to its third term over Zoom. “The class is a fantastic place to learn English and make friends. The teachers are kind and friendly,” told Tram Nguyen who came to Clare from Vietnam. Local poet and tutor Martin Vernon, who holds a certificate in community development and leadership, stated “I don’t like people within the Direct Provision system being cut off from society. That’s why these are free classes, open to anyone within the

county. Everyone is really loving it. It’s about meeting new people and lifting each other up. Many of them are attending separate formal classes with exams and grammar outside of this. For us, it’s just about getting people talking.” Fáilte Isteach provided tutor training and a coursebook. Martin informed that the book is only used as a springboard to conversation. Knockalisheen, Clare Lodge and Lisdoonvarna are three Clare Direct Provision Centres involved in the online classes. Zoom has provided the perfect platform where they can connect with others during Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions and also, eliminates the burden of having to travel. “It is a good opportunity for me to meet native Irish

Clare swimmers compete for spot on Team Ireland PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

L A R E swimmers were among those competing at Swim Ireland’s Irish National Team Trials at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre this week to represent Team Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics. Rory McEvoy (pic-

tured) of Ennis qualified from the 100m backstroke trials on Tuesday morning for Wednesday evening’s final, the result of which was not known at the time of going to print. McEvoy had been training at the High Performance Centre and the National Centre in advance of the trials.

people and talk to them. It is really helping me to integrate into Irish society,” said Russian learner Aleksandr Veselov, who lives in Clare. Classes take place between April 19 to May 31 from 7.45pm to 9pm. The emphasis of the classes, Martin said, is on catering for all levels of English and also having fun. Anyone interested can sign up for classes by emailing clarechat21@ gmail.com. Martin will then return a phone call in order to check the persons level of English and a coursebook will be delivered. Martin hopes that the initiative could result in three or four separate groups set up within the county to deliver physical classes to migrant’s post pandemic.

l TUTOR: Local poet Martin Vernon

Sprinkles Scrumptious

Killaloe’s Jonathan McGrath is also aiming to secure his place on Team Ireland. McGrath is aspiring to represent his country in the Paralympic Games which begin on August 24th. He competed in the 100m freestyle final on Wednesday morning which was won by Barry McClements in a time of 59:81. McGrath’s main event which is the 400m freestyle takes place today (Thursday).

Serving Ice creams, Tea/Coffee, Selection of Sandwiches and Wraps, Milkshakes and Hot Dogs We are open at the Bellbridge Friday to Sunday 12pm-8pm. The Sprinkles Scrumptious at the Royal Marine Kilkee is open Daily until 8pm.

Bellbridge House Hotel, Spanish Point Royal Marine Hotel, Kilkee

NEWS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Mobility plan loved by public but business community split - survey

STUART HOLLY editor@clareecho.ie

MAJORITY of Ennis businesses do not believe the Ennis Mobility Plan was necessary to ensure social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic – however almost two-thirds of the public have found the initiative to be a positive experience. That is according to new data collected by The Clare Echo. More than 500 members of the public along with 69 businesses based in Ennis Town Centre took part in two separate surveys conducted online to gauge reaction to the Ennis Mobility Plan along with attitudes to pedestrianisation in Ennis. Some 52 per cent of businesses do not be-

lieve the Ennis Mobility Plan was necessary to ensure social distancing, with 42 per cent in favour of the measure and a further six per cent in the ‘don’t know’ category. While conceding that “a plan was needed,” Michael McGrath of Safeway Tyres added, “but not the draconian measures that were taken, I feel the council overreacted and it’s not the first time… they don’t take criticism well.” Martin Casey of MF Casey Paper & Printing added that the plan was “understandable at the beginning of the first lockdown” but the streets “should have been fully reopened in September 2020”. Many traders reflected the viewpoint that the plan was necessary to ensure safety while shops remained open but not during level 5 restrictions. However Maeve Sheridan of McHughs Bar on Parnell Street argued, “At the beginning of the pandemic no one knew what was happening and based on the scientific infor-

SURVEY RESULTS PUBLIC Have you enjoyed the increased space afforded by the Ennis Mobility Plan?

Yes: 63% No: 32% Don’t know: 5%

Do you think Ennis currently has the parking infrastructure to accommodate pedestrianisation?

Yes: 39% No: 57% Don’t know: 4%

Would you like to see some form of pedestrianisation (ie weekend or permanent) planned for in the long term?

Yes: 69% No: 26% Don’t know: 5%

BUSINESSES Do you believe the Ennis Mobility Plan was necessary to ensure social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Yes: 42% No: 52% Don’t know: 6%

Do you think Ennis currently has the parking and traffic infrastructure to accommodate pedestrianisation, temporary or otherwise?

Yes: 21% No: 75% Don’t know: 4%

Would you like to see some form of pedestrianisation (ie weekend or permanent) planned for in the long term?

Yes: 49% No: 40% Don’t know: 11%

mation on hand at the time, this plan was proportional in protecting the people of the town given the narrow streets.” One business owner on Abbey Street added that the Mobility plan was “definitely” necessary “to allow queuing outside shops and to adhere to social distancing as the streets of Ennis are very narrow.” While the business community remains split on the initiative, there was little doubt that the majority of the public have found the Mobility Plan to be a positive experience. Some 63 per cent of visitors say they have enjoyed the increased space afforded by the Ennis Mobility Plan, a large majority compared to the 32 per cent who answered ‘no’. Five per cent were in the ‘don’t know’ category. An increased feeling of safety was the most noted reason for people enjoying the Mobility Plan. One respondent said, “It is so safe being able to walk up the middle

of the streets during these pandemic times” with a wheelchair user stating that is has “changed my life”. Another said, “I have a baby in a buggy. There is absolutely no way to get around town on the footpaths unless the roads are closed” while another parent commented, “I have three young children and it’s a pleasure to bring them along Ennis’s beautiful streets without concern of traffic.” However some commentators are not in favour of the plan. Safety concerns, damage to businesses and access for elderly and wheelchair users were among the most quoted reasons for people not favouring the Mobility Plan. Comments on this side of the debate included, “No thought given to elderly and people with poor mobility”; “It’s caused severe congestion on Carmody St and Mill Road”; and “the town is definitely a lot rougher since pedestrianisation”.

NEWS 11

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Huge appetite for future pedestrianisation the business community surveyed, some 49 per cent were in favour of a long-term plan for pedestrianisation versus 40 per cent who are against. Some 11 per cent of business people are undecided. editor@clareecho.ie However an overwhelming majority of both shoppers and business people believe UGE appetite exists among the Ennis is currently unprepared to deal with public and business community for the logistics of a pedestrian plan, with 74 per future pedestrianisation in Ennis. cent of businesses and 57 per cent of the Almost 70 per cent of people sur- public respondents saying Ennis does not veyed by The Clare Echo would have the parking and traffic infrastructure to like to see some form of pedestrianisation in accommodate pedestrianisation. Stephen O’Callaghan of Cartridge Plus on Ennis planned for in the long term, while just shy of 50 per cent of the business commu- Abbey Street added, “Some slight improvements to the current system may make penity are in favour of pedestrianisation plans. While 69 per cent of people surveyed destrianisation a good long-term option. would like to see a pedestrianisation plan in Maybe certain sections pedestrianised Ennis, 26 per cent were against it with a fur- full-timer, with certain streets or sections ther five per cent undecided. Of those within only pedestrianised 11am-5pm on business days to allow full car access to businesses between 5-6pm before they close in the evening? Full pedestrianisation in areas with a greater density of restaurants and bars may help promote outdoor dining.” Paul Madden of the Temple Gate Hotel argued that a united approach week when one of the first imPÁRAIC from traders would ages appearing on Google in be key to any future MCMAHON relation to the town was that plans, saying that peof a rat, this was after a report destrianisation could work “only if proper on the claim was published by infrastructure is put in O evidence of The Clare Champion. The arplace and everybody vermin nesting ticle has since been removed buys into it.” The ownwithin a parklet from their website.

STUART HOLLY

No evidence of rats as Gardaí say pedestrianisation has not led to more anti-social behaviour

on O’Connell St in Ennis has been observed while An Garda Síochána have said pedestrian measures in the town centre have not led to an increase in anti-social behaviour. A letter issued to both the HSE and Clare County Council by an Ennis trader said they had spotted rats at the parklet on O’Connell St in March and that street cleaners had also observed this. Blame was placed with the introduction of the parklet for “proving to be a magnet for vermin”. Clare County Council have refuted the single complaint and detailed that the parklet was introduced after “numerous requests” for a seating area for the elderly and those with reduced mobility. Following an investigation by the Environmental Health Section of the HSE, “they confirmed that there is no evidence of vermin nesting within the parklet and did not see any sign or evidence of rodent activity on O’Connell Street, Brogans Lane and Thompson’s Lane,” a spokesperson for the local authority told The Clare Echo. Ennis business personnel voiced their concerns last

Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána have said no reported increase in anti-social behaviour has been reported in the town as a result of pedestrianisation measures. Issues relating to emergency accommodation in Ennis have been criticised for leading to a rise in crime by elected representatives but Gardaí have said this is not connected to pedestrianisation. The Clare Echo understands that representatives of An Garda Síochána advised at the most recent meeting of the Temporary Covid-19 Ennis Town Centre Mobility Plan stakeholder group that there was no reported increase in the level of anti-social behaviour arising from the pedestrianisation measures. Members of the media are not permitted to attend these meetings. Statistics have showed “a decrease” in anti-social behaviour during the course of the pandemic in Ennis. “Furthermore, there is no proven correlation between pedestrianisation measures and an increase in rates of anti-social behaviour,” a spokesperson stated of An Garda Síochána’s contribution at the stakeholder meeting.

ers of a clothes retail business on O’Connell Street who wished to remain anonymous, said they were in favour of permanent pedestrianisation “but only if parking and the traffic infrastructure is greatly improved”. Dermot Fetton of Henry’s Bistro said that he would be in favour of potential plans to pedestrianise Ennis in the future. He referenced the Mobility Plan, explaining “I saw people enjoying it. When businesses were open last summer, the visitor experience was a really positive one and the feedback from visitors was exceptionally positive. It really put Ennis on the map as a place to visit because of how comfortable people were. If it’s to be considered in the long-term, it would be great if there was another look at parking in the surrounds of the town.” However Tom O’Donnell, who has a family-run sports shop on Abbey Street, put forward the counter-argument, “Traffic essentially is the lifeblood of the town’s mobility. Continuous movement of traffic brings vibrancy and life to all areas of the town equally and allows people to do drop-offs and collections easily.” One long-term trader on O’Connell Street added that any closure of Abbey Street or O’Connell Street has “a negative knock-on effect on the traffic flow on the outer ring roads.” Miriam Keane of Tierney’s Sweetshop on Abbey Street says that while pedestrianisation offers great freedom for the walker, it has a devastating impact on revenue for local businesses. She noted that having traded in the street for over 30 years, “the minute they close the street at 11am we could nearly close the shop as well.” Miriam added that there have been major delivery logistical issues imposed on many businesses by the mobility plan..

Cars will return to street soon PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

HE Ennis Mobility Plan will come to an end as soon as Government restrictions allow. The Clare Echo understands that the multi-agency Ennis Mobility Taskforce carry out regular reviews of the plan and an exit plan is likely in the coming months as Government restrictions are eased in line with lower transmission rates of Covid-19. No date has been determined.

It comes as the Ennis Chamber insist that the Ennis Mobility Plan has no relevance to any potential move towards pedestrianisation in the town. Chamber President Darragh McAllister, who runs two pubs in Ennis, told RTÉ on Sunday that decisions on pedestrianisation being a permanent fixture cannot be made and that the mobility plan was implemented purely to allow for social distancing. “It was put in as a temporary feature to deal with Covid, and it would be wrong to assume that because it’s there in a pandemic and a lockdown is in any way a sign of how things might be in the future, and it would have to be put to public consultation,” he said.

Tuesday saw the most recent sitting of the Temporary Covid-19 Ennis Town Centre Mobility Plan stakeholder group take place. The group hold their meetings in-camera, a spokesperson for Clare County Council described it as “a positive and productive meeting”. The stakeholder group will last for the duration of the pandemic. Another meeting is scheduled to take place next week. Mobility stakeholders of the group which was formed in May include all seven councillors in the Ennis Municipal District, the HSE, An Garda Siochana, Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Retail Excellence Ireland, Retailers of Ennis, Better Ennis Vintners Federation, Older Persons Council and disability advocates. Clare County Council have stressed that the mobility plan was only introduced in response to COVID-19. “The plan is designed to support residents, the business community and all citizens to access Ennis town in a safe, socially distanced environment as the town centre is characterised by narrow streetscapes and interconnected laneways with restrictive footpath widths”. The mobility plan remains a living document “and will be updated and amended in line with risk assessments,” the spokesperson added.

NEWS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

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Clare Tourism plans for the future as 2030 Strategy is launched

l Pictured at the Bridges of Ross to mark the virtual launch of the ‘County Clare Tourism Strategy 2030’ were: (front) Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Mary Howard; and (back, l-r) Leonard Cleary, Director of Rural Development, Clare County Council; Deirdre O’Shea, Head of Tourism, Clare County Council; and Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council.

LARE County Council, supported by Fáilte Ireland, is today (22nd April, 2021) unveiling an ambitious roadmap for the development of tourism in County Clare post-Covid and over the next decade. The ‘County Clare Tourism Strategy 2030’ will be officially launched by Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, at 10.00am. The prioritised strategic directions of the Strategy focus on strengthening leadership and collaboration, improving connectivity, building vibrant experiences, enhancing supporting infrastructure and knowledge, and creating awareness. 29 Strategic priorities set out in the plan include working collaboratively to develop the profile, experiences and infrastructure of Ennis as a core hub attraction and gateway to the county as well as working with community partners to strengthen the role of towns and villages as destination hubs. Other strategic priorities include working with Shannon Airport to secure and sustain new routes, prioritising the development of the West Clare Rail Greenway, promoting the Lower Lough Derg as a signature destination, establishing sustainable travel options designed to support tourism, elevating the international significance of the Burren & Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. Commenting on the Strategy, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Mary Howard, said: “Before the Covid-19 pandemic brought a sudden and catastrophic halt to travel, it is estimated that the tourism

sector supported over 6,600 jobs in Clare. It is, therefore, essential that every effort is made to bring about tourism’s recovery and to support businesses that are affected now and during their journey back to growth.” “While the recovery efforts are underway, devising sustainable long-term approaches to tourism development is imperative,” added Cllr Howard. “We want to attract more visitors to Clare in the future and spread the benefits of tourism across the county in a way that enriches our communities while, at the same time, maintaining our distinctive identity and protecting our natural environment.” Developed on behalf of Clare County Council by consultancy firm TEAM Tourism, the 10-year strategy has been overseen by a Steering Group comprising the Clare County Council Tourism Department, Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Group, Shannon Heritage, Accolades Marketing and the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. Over the past two years, extensive consultation has been undertaken with the public, Elected Members, Oireachtas Members, local tourism industry and community network groups. “While the Strategy was prepared for Clare County Council, it is designed to be a roadmap for all businesses, communities, and government partners and agencies, and the success of its implementation will be dependent on a collaborative approach,” outlined Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of Clare County Council. “During public consultation, the key message that was heard across the county was

that tourism had to be about communities and their wellbeing. It had to be about sustainability in the truest meaning of the word,” stated Mr Dowling. He continued: “The onset of the pandemic accentuated the importance of getting the direction right. Everything was re-evaluated with a new level of rigour, which was time well spent. The aspirations of the entire spectrum of stakeholders have shaped the goals and the strategic priorities. The Clare Tourism Strategy sets the stage for Clare to be at the forefront of sustainability and innovation in rural tourism within Ireland, and indeed beyond.” “Our 2030 vision is for Clare to be globally-renowned sustainable and vibrant destination, easily reached and traversed, and recognised for its rich cultural assets, its stunning and open-space landscapes, its compelling array of remarkable experiences, and for its welcome and exceptional hospitality,” added Mr Dowling. “Achieving this vision will require all tourism interests in Clare, supported by government and national agencies, to work collaboratively to deliver an outcome that enriches all communities across our county.” Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, said: “The Clare Tourism Strategy 2030 sets out a comprehensive roadmap for tourism development in Clare over the next 10 years which will be critical for the recovery of tourism across the county.” Mr Kelly added: “Fáilte Ireland is committed to the sustainable development of tourism in County Clare, working hand in hand with Clare County Council to progress a number of initiatives including the Masterplan for the Cliffs of Moher, The Shannon Tourism Masterplan, the Burren, Cliff Coast and Lough Derg Destination and Experience Development Plans and two new trails off the Wild Atlantic Way, the Shannon Estuary Way and The Burren Discovery Trail. Last week, we also announced a €19 million investment to develop state-of-the-art facilities for water-based activities. In Clare, two locations will be developed under this scheme, in partnership with Clare County Council – Ballycuggeran Sports Activity Facility, Ogonnelloe, Killaloe, and Waterworld, East End, Kilkee. We look forward to continuing to work together to develop the destination; increasing visitor numbers, dwell time and visitor spend, and ensuring that Clare is well established on the bucket list of Irish destinations, with a sustainable tourism model that benefits all.” Leonard Cleary, Director of Rural Development, Clare County Council, said the new Tourism Department structure of Clare County Council as well as the new Clare Tourism Advisory Forum, working strongly with Fáilte Ireland, will “play a critical role

in providing leadership in these immediate challenging times”. Mr Cleary pointed out that the Strategy contains a “clear focus on developing tourism as a driver for economic development and rural development”. “The value for the county as a whole is considerably lower than its market size rankings given a low average spend per overseas visitor and a high level of seasonality, and the distinctly uneven geographical spread of benefits,” he explained. “The Strategy aims to redress this by working collaboratively with local and national stakeholders to deliver compelling quality experiences that reflect and leverage Clare’s unique identity, becoming globally recognised as a sustainable destination of the West of Ireland, and by spreading the benefits of tourism across the county and throughout the seasons in a way that enriches our communities,” concluded Mr Cleary. Deirdre O’Shea, A/Head of Tourism, Clare County Council, said the Strategy will facilitate increased length of stay and visitor spend, and a dispersal of benefits to the wider community. “The Strategy contains an Action Plan that will guide our immediate activities at any given time and will ensure that the Strategy remains highly relevant and responsive to new opportunities and challenges,” she added. Ms O’Shea continued: “In recognition of the requirement for enhanced tourism products within the county, there are significant capital projects, which have been progressing by the Tourism Department and directorate colleagues, include the renovations to Loophead Lighthouse, Vandeleur Walled Gardens and development of a visitor experience for Inis Cealtra (Holy Island). In addition, and through Fáilte Ireland funding, Ennistymon Tourism Destination Town is progressing. This is all in addition to three Fáilte Ireland Destination and Experience Destination Plans that are in progress across the county.” “Another one of the key strategic priorities identified within the strategy is to establish a county-wide Tourism Advisory Forum to strengthen governance and act as an advisory group for Clare County Council and a spokes-group for Tourism. This Tourism Advisory Forum is now well established with a keen focus on Clare’s recovery post the Covid-19 pandemic as well as implementation of the action plan set out” added Ms O’Shea. A virtual launch of the Strategy will take place today on Clare County Council’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels. The ‘County Clare Tourism Strategy 2030’ is available to view on www.clarecoco.ie.

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

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14 NEWS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Aldi update planning application for Shannon store set to open in 2023 PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

N UPDATED planning development has been submitted by Aldi Ireland for a two-storey development in Shannon. Aldi have said it is on track to open its planned new store at the Airport Rd near Shannon town centre in July of 2023. The brand already has stores in Ennis, Ennistymon, Kilrush and Killaloe. Initial plans were first lodged in May of last year and targeted an opening in the first quarter of

2023. The updated planning application for the 1,315 sqm store already includes a two-storey unit for coffee shop / restaurant use, however this has been further amended to incorporate more facilities that will benefit Aldi shoppers and the wider Shannon community. To facilitate connectivity to the town centre, the design now includes an improved pedestrian and cycle crossing on Airport road, as well as a new pedestrian footpath at the front of the site. 25 permanent jobs will be created, the German owned discount supermarket chain stated, this is an increase on the 20 first announced last year. An approximate 80 peo-

addition to bike parking facilities as part of the overall development. Four free-to-use electric vehicle charging points will be provided while the store will be powered by 100% green electricity. Regional Managing Director of Aldi Ireland, Colin Breslin stated, “Shannon residents can now mark July 2023 in their calendars for our fifth Aldi store in Co. Clare. The new store will also provide further opportunity for local food and drink producers to work with Aldi. We sourced €2.8 million of locally produced food and drink from Co. Clare based suppliers last year”. ple will be hired in the construction stage of the store.

Airport fund announcement a ‘cynical’ PR move by Govt by PÁRAIC McMAHON A CLARE TD has accused the Government of engaging in a “cynical PR exercise” after Department officials attempted to portray monies allocated to Shannon Airport as new funding. On Monday morning, the Department of Transport stated that €6.3m had been allocated to Shannon Airport under the COVID-19 Regional State Airports Programme 2021, funding which had already been announced in November. Back in November, the Department detailed that under the Regional State Airports Programme, Shannon and Cork Airports would share €22.1m, consisting of €15 million in current funding and a further €6.5 million in capital funding for 2021.

In a statement to The Clare Echo, Deputy Michael McNamara (IND) outlined, “the rehashing of a funding announcement from over five months ago is an insult to the 140,000 people employed in Ireland’s aviation sector who have repeatedly but unsuccessfully sought Government to produce a recovery plan for the sector”. He believed the Department by announcing old news was “a case of the Government buying time in the absence of any clear reopening strategy for our airports but this cynicism will not be not lost on management and workers at Shannon Airport, who are being asked to live on hope”. “We have a larger aviation sector than most other European countries of our size and we are more reliant on-air connectivity than most other States, yet our Government has delayed any consideration of a recovery plan. As air travel resumes across Europe and North America, the Government’s continued delay in developing such a plan will have a significant impact on the broader economy, Foreign Direct Investment, tourism, and employment in the aviation sector itself and all the other sectors that rely on connectivity,” the Scariff native added. McNamara said that funding from central Government “can never compensate for a lack of a balanced aviation policy, which I have called for repeatedly in Dáil Éireann since the introduction of restrictions affecting our aviation sector. Shannon Airport needs a leg-up from the next Government more than it needs a hand-out”. Shannon Group had responded to the announcement from Junior Minister Hildegarde Naughton (FG) which confirmed the allocation of €6.3m and acknowledged that the details were first announced last year. lOUTSPOKEN: TD McNamara

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THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

in association with

Greater Garda presence needed in town to quell anti-social behaviour PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

SE of ‘inappropriate sites’ to house persons in emergency accommodation is leading to rising crime in Ennis a Clare TD has said with elected representatives calling for increased Garda patrols in the town centre. Ashford Court Hotel and Westbrook House are inadequate facilities when it comes to housing persons with “complex needs”, Deputy Joe Carey (FG) believed. He was of the view that recent incidents of crime in Ennis were associated with attempts to accommodate homeless persons, “the

fallout from that is spilling onto the streets of Ennis”. Speaking at a meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC), he questioned the Chief Superintendent on his strategy and called for a multi-agency approach. Lack of Garda patrols in the town was criticised by Cllr Ann Norton (IND). “It has been brought to councillors’ attention that there is drugs being sold on the street, it is being blatantly done and there is a number of people drinking and harassing people”. According to Cllr Norton, the issue has come more into focus since main streets in Ennis have become pedestrianised. She claimed drugs were being sold on O’Connell Street. Cllr Norton maintained people were fearful about coming to the town because of the issues.

“We do not want to get a bad reputation, we want people to be able to come back to town and feel comfortable when the levels are lifted”. Begging is also an issue, she flagged. Chief Supt Seán Colleran commented that he was “fully aware” of the impact of the spill over linked

l Lack of Garda patrols has been criticised

Predicted busy summer heightens appeals for traffic calming at Shanaway Rd by PÁRAIC Mc MAHON PREDICTED “huge traffic” along the Lahinch Rd this summer has reignited the bid to introduce traffic calming measures at the Shanaway Rd junction. An update on proposed traffic controls at the junction were sought by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) at this month’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Senior executive engineer, John Gannon confirmed that the road design office has engaged with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on a regular basis regarding the junction. Design options have been submitted with the most recent engagement seeing the TII reject the proposal and seek greater consideration for Active Travel measures. Residents who had been “incredibly patient and understanding” are now “at their wits end,” Cllr Howard outlined. She believed the road which has “a couple of thousand people” living on it was unsafe. “Even with the Banner GAA Club, Woodstock Golf Club and Hotel Woodstock closed, the traffic is still very heavy on that road. Once restrictions are eased, there will be huge traffic on the Lahinch Rd towards the coast”. Traffic lights was the favoured option of Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG). “This issue has been going on for last two decades” while significant developments with housing estates have occurred in the area, he believed. The bypass has “exasperated” the use of the route with traffic lights deemed in his view the “only solution to give a fair chance

to people exiting and entering the N85”. He also felt the Lahinch Rd would be very busy and urged the Council to move quickly. Questions are continuously raised on the matter by residents who have found the situation very difficult, Cllr Ann Norton (IND) acknowledged. “It is proving to be a real challenge,” Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) noted. Urgency is needed in the approach, Cllr Mark Nestor (FF) stressed as he reiterated that residents had been voicing their concerns for two decades. Ten times the amount of houses are on the Shanaway Rd compared with twenty years ago, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) stated. He also felt traffic lights would be the best option and said consultation with the Hogan family who run “a vibrant business” by the junction is important. TII involvement seems to see projects go “around in circles,” Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) surmised. “This is going on for too long, it is ridiculous. It is an accident waiting to happen,” Cllr Howard added. She requested a timelines for the starting and completion of necessary works. Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer told the meeting a different approach will have to be used in an attempt to activate the funding. “It also comes down to where national funding goes, that is cyclical with whichever Government is in charge”.

to the emergency accommodation. Individuals involved in drugs offences and begging on the street which are detected by Gardaí are brought before the Court but he noted “the next step is beyond our control”. He said that he would be “very disappointed” if Gardaí were not challenging and questioning

persons begging in the town. Garda resources have been “stretched” over the last year, he admitted. He felt reduced crime rates was in part due to increased patrols. “I would like to see more Gardaí on patrol, it is more optical than practical, when you see Gardaí on beat it can give people great comfort but their ability to intercept crime may not be as good as people believe”. Mayor of Clare, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) told the meeting she was of the view Westbrook House’s use for emergency accommodation was to be “wound down”. Videos circulated online of fighting at Darcy’s Corner were referenced by Cllr Howard, “the accents in the video were not local, they were Limerick City”. “At least” two Gardaí should be walking the streets, she maintained.

16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

President orders 10 books from Newmarket author Colm PÁRAIC MCMAHON ASCINATING, quirky and head-scratching tales are recounted in a new book looking at times gone by in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Long ago in Newmarket is a collection of photos and stories from the parish’s past. It ranges from the 1646 Siege of Bunratty to two Belgian families taking refuge in Dromoland during WW1 while touching on the life of the O’Briens of Dromoland, the time half of the Beatles were in the parish and the building of Shannon Airport. Not so long ago Colm Liddy began to write more about history. The part-time pharmacist’s talent as a writer first became evident in his 20s. Penguin have published two of his books while he also has been Editor of Tradraí, the popular GAA annual while a decade ago he wrote history on Ballycar National School. “I’ve repented from those years when I used to make stuff up,” Colm quipped about moving from ‘40 Fights Between Husbands and

Wives’ to gunfights and sieges in his locality. “That was a terrible sin and now I’m just happy to speak about the truth, I’ve moved away from the world of fiction. There is so much excitement in this history that there is no need to make this up, there is astonishing stories flying around us everywhere.” A father of five and the current PRO of The Blues, the suspension of games last year meant live tweeting and his diary filled with dropping children to and from training and games plus his own soccer endeavours were all stopped in their tracks, “It left a lot of free time and the history filled the vacuum”. Both the tracks of Colm and his wife Niamh saw them alter their walking routes and thus began a greater exploration of his native parish. “When you walk, you begin to notice stuff and it was the early lockdown last year when everything was so peaceful, when there wasn’t a car on the road, that you had time to really look and begin to grasp so much that this parish is so filled with history, ruins and abandoned cottages. In the evenings, I’d be reading about it all so I spent the time reading and exploring, taking photographs of everything that moved.”

Newmarket is noted for its history, much of which has been documented by the late Canon Reuben Butler and historian Máire Ní Ghruagáin while texts from Edwin

glór is excited to present a unique and perfect event for Clare where ‘audiences’ will get a chance to play their part in a unique nationwide planting project, encouraging bio-diversity in our beautiful landscape. 1000 Miniature Meadows is a part sound project and part nationwide planting project that will begin with a letter sent to you at your home. You will be invited to

step into your garden or that wild patch of green by your house and to listen to what it has to say. After a sell-out premiere for Dublin Fringe Festival 2020, 1000 Miniature Meadows will return this April via a unique network of listeners in Clare, Longford, Laois and beyond. This is a lively invasion of our outdoor spaces and an ambitious attempt to open out fresh con-

versations surrounding Ireland’s biodiversity crisis. Expect a link to an intimate soundscape, a sachet of seeds, expert interviews and a conversation with a bumblebee. Please note that you can only buy one ticket per booking. Please be sure to provide your full postal address when booking. Your ‘ticket’ envelope will be sent via post, containing everything you need. To experience this event, you

paraic@clareecho.ie

lDELVE INTO THE PAST: Colm Liddy in Fenloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus

Photo by John Mangan

Bailey and Brendan Arthur also add to the story. Approximately two thirds of the contents of Colm’s book are previously untold stories, much

of which falls into the category of social history. “I hope the overwhelming thing for people about the book is its pictures, it is either illustrations or photos which I think makes it more accessible. Dromoland is well known as a castle but who are the people who lived there, that family are ridiculously fascinating. I’ve only dug up a fraction on them but you have a guy who was a pilot in WW1 who died tragically, a woman who became a nun and ultimately a Saint in the Anglican Church.” President Michael D. Higgins is among those who have read the book to date. Colm sent an edition to the Áras gratis and was surprised to hear the former Ballycar student wished to obtain 10 more copies. “He shelled out for them, I was thinking the President could just take them or demand that I hand them over, he was very reasonable about it, obviously I gave him a discount,” Liddy remarked. This was volume one and Colm felt there was potential to have three editions published. Copies of the book are available at Halpin’s Garage, Newmarket Family Butchers, via email colmliddy@eircom.net or online at shopireland.ie.

‘Lively invasion of outdoor spaces’ will need a smartphone with access to Wi-Fi or data and headphones. Please note that booking for this event will close on Friday 23rd April to allow for postage of materials. The soundscape will go live at 9am on Friday 23rd April until 8pm on Friday 30th of April. For info, go to glor. ie.

FEATURES

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

GREEN CLARE

Clarecastle Tidy Towns volunteers return to the streets

CIAN O’BROIN

cianobroin@clareecho.ie

LARECASTLE Tidy Towns volunteers have returned to the streets for the annual National Spring Clean for 2021. An Taisce’s National anti-litter Spring Clean campaign takes place throughout the month of April. Last year, 500,000 volunteers collected 2,900 tonnes of litter nationally. This year, Clarecastle Tidy Towns registered 30 groups of volunteers, who completed their first clean up for this year’s Spring Clean on Good Friday. “Since last year, we have been keeping to strict guidelines. People have been working individually or in their own family bubbles. It’s great to see so many younger people joining us for our annual Spring Clean. We are out there every Monday night collecting a huge amount of litter,” stated Chairman Christy Leyden, who lives beside Clareabbey. Since the start of the pandemic, Clarecastle Tidy Towns have had to forego traditional in person meetings and have enjoyed a premium

Zoom licence, which allows them to host virtual video conferences online with no time limit imposed. This is shared with local groups such as Clarecastle GAA, Clarecastle Men’s Shed and the Clarecastle Covid Support Network. The group, which reformed in 2009, has now seen an uptake in members that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attend local meetings due to work or childbearing commitments. Christy has lauded the new change and commented that Zoom has both enabled the group to continue working and has also allowed those who otherwise wouldn’t have touched technology, to get involved. In spite of enduring one of Europe’s longest lockdowns, casual littering is on the rise in Ireland, he added. This has been noted during this year’s Spring Clean 2021 and Christy has remarked that Clare Abbey is one of the biggest littering hotspots within the county. Last year, 30 formal complaints were made about casual littering and fly-tipping in the locality. This year, a total of 10 complaints have

lVOLUNTEERS: John and Declan Clohessy , Christy Leyden , Paul, Cathal and Johnny Murphy at Clareabbey Spring Clean 2021

already been lodged with Clare County Council. Christy is calling for increased proactive engagement on offences and visibility

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after a complaint is formally registered with the authorities. “There is a very small minority doing it on a continuous basis. We link this back to a very poor County Clare Litter Management Plan. This needs to be changed. We need a cross-county ambitious plan. We need a comprehensive plan with specific goals, targets and measurements. After I report something through the See it Say it App, I get no visibility as to what happens. Volunteers are being taken for granted and there are major issues that need to be addressed. We need CCTV in known litter areas,” Christy, who took the winning photo at the National Tidy Towns Photography Competition 2020, admonished. He believes that volunteers can be used for a lot better purposes than picking up other people’s litter. Clarecastle Tidy Towns is looking to move towards a future focused on biodiversity and sustainability. Some upcoming projects include the flowering of minimal water waste baskets outside of businesses within the village. A biodiversity plan has been devised for People’s Park, with works expected to commence

following confirmation of funding. This year, Christy asserted that an emphasis has been placed on reducing the cutting of hedges and allowing grass such as that at Clare Abbey to grow and flourish, as pollinator sites. In addition, the use of weed killer has been halted completely, adding extra workload on volunteers but is positively impacting the environment. “We are looking to work with all local groups towards a brighter future centred on biodiversity and sustainability. We urge everyone to use their own reusable cups, as we are seeing single use plastics making up 90 per cent of casual littering we find to date. We are hoping to continue working on a monthly basis through Zoom and with our clean ups every Monday evening and love to see new faces every time,” he concluded.

Contact Clarecastlett@gmail. com to get involved.

18 COLUMNISTS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Creamy sourdough bruscetta

Kearney Cooks

NEW bakery called Sourdo Farrells opened up in Ennis and it is the hottest ticket in town with queues out the door for fresh sourdough, pastries and other such treats. It’s great to see and a welcome addition to the St. Micheals Villas area. Seeing the pictures of queues outside on social media, I knew I had to drag my backside out of bed, get myself in line, and find out if it was worth the hype. Thankfully it was; I filled up on pastries and sourdough and an added bonus of amazing coffee that was roasted here in Clare by Anam. Naturally enough , I thought I would use the sourdough in a recipe so here we go.. For this recipe you will need • 2 slices of sourdough • A handful of mushrooms , your choice , I used chestnut. • Half a red onion • 1 clove of garlic • A sprig of thyme • 50 ml Chicken or vegetable stock • 1large tblsp of Creme Fraiche. • A drizzle of balsamic glaze to make it look fancy.

Step 1 Brush your sourdough with oil or butter and brown it off in a pan. Set aside for later

ebecca O’Neill

Step 2 Put a teaspoon of olive oil into a hot pan , and add your mushrooms, onions , garlic and thyme plus salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown. Step 3 Add fifty mls of stock to the pan and let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then add your creme fraiche and stir it through , let it bubble away for a minute until its a nice saucy consistency. Step 4 Put your sourdough on a plate and cover with your mushroom sauce mix. Drizzle over with some balsamic glaze and voila , a handy starter sized dish that only takes a few minutes to do. Step 5 Horse into it.

Its great to see new forward thinking businesses coming to Ennis and Clare and I hope to see more of this in the future . Good luck to Sourdo Farrell in the future with his new venture . As usual if you have any queries or questions please feel free to message me on insta , just search KearneyCooks. Enjoy,

Steve K

What I love about a dish like this is that it is amazing for breakfast , is a lovely way to start a meal or is even great for a light supper . Plus you can make it vegan easily enough by swapping out the creme fraiche for quark.

County Clare wish-list This week, Rebecca O'Neill explores what’s on offer around the ocunty now that we can travel beyond our 5km limit

OW that we have the luxury of being able to travel beyond our 5km, we have so much to see and do. I love visiting the beautiful places that Clare has to offer. I’m going to make a list of locations that you can make a trip out of. A change of scenery as we know, is so good for your mind and these locations will benefit this. Now that our weather is improving, there are no excuses. Getting back to the coast Lahinch Beach: This beach is such a welcoming place that offers amazing scenery of the ocean. There is such a positive atmosphere within the sea-side resort. Restaurants like O’Connors Ice Cream Shop and Spooneys offer ice cream and fish and chips. If your looking for a beach day or just to go for a walk along the prom, Lahinch is very reliable for a change of scenery.

White Strand Doonbeg beach: I personally love this beach because it is

very quiet and peaceful. Off the side of the beach, called Kerins Hope, you can also jump off the rocks where it is safe to do so. With very clear water and a great view, it is also famous for its white sand. The view from the White Strand beach looks across Doughmore Strand which is also popular for surfing and attracting families for a day out. The Burren This is such a compelling landscape containing rocky pavements, tombstones, fossils and a limestone hill. This location is such a traditional place to visit. Poets, painters, artists and writers have been so inspired by the beauty of The Burren. If you’re looking to visit a historical and extraordinary looking place, this location is perfect. Back to the east Killaloe: This location is probably my personal favourite. Killaloe (pictured) lies on the river Shannon offering a great view of the boats and the aesthetic village. Lough Derg attracts the public with the location being very attractive on a summer’s day. This is such a great location to have a

picnic or to just relax and go for a swim. Killaloe is always worth the drive. I would highly recommend this place if your looking for somewhere different to visit. Making the most out of your time to see different places is so important and creates a positive outlook on life. Now that we have the blessing of being able to travel around our county, we should definitely do it while we can. This has made me so grateful to be able to see these places again and are right on our doorstep.

COLUMNISTS 19

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

With

With With

Everyday is a school day

AST weekend we welcomed Dr. Keir McNamara and his Agricultural Science class to our farm to discuss all things agriculture with a special focus on the environment. It was great to have such an engaging group of students walking the farm and drawing up the connection between their syllabus and what’s happening on a typical Irish dairy farm in the spring. Keir has a wealth of experience in agricultural science but he also has a really well travelled and varied experience in farming from seeing multi story pig farms in Hong Kong to planting thousands of acres of canola in western Australia. It is great to meet someone who speaks with such enthusiasm about agriculture and brings it to life for his students. It might have been a day for learning for the students but it definitely was for me too as I learned that the new ag science syllabus is covering the more technical aspects of modern farming such as EBI but is also very much focused on sustainability and the environment. I hope that as a subject it could spark the inspiration for some of these teenagers to adopt a career in farming. Zero grazing is playing a role currently in supplementing the cows diet. We find it a great fit for our system as we run a lower stocking rate on the outside farm and this allows us to utilise grass from there as well as reducing our meal feeding. The cows eat this after milking and after an hour of feasting on this luscious salad bar of grass they are satisfied and tend to lie down when they go out to the paddock. In previous years we would have used high qual-

ity silage bales as a supplement to the diet when grass growth was slow. We have identified paddocks that are underperforming in terms of grass growth but also grass quality, these are being burned off this week and will be reseeded. Our target is 10 grazings per paddock per year and hopefully when these are back in new grass we will exceed that target. Abraham Lincoln said “Every blade of grass is a study; and to produce two, where there was but one, is both a profit and a pleasure,” that was in 1859 and it still rings true today. Breeding season is just around the corner, our mating start date is the 1st of May. We have picked our team of bulls and for our herd we are placing a special emphasis on protein in the dairy bulls. We will also use some beef A.I. on later calving cows and cows we don’t deem good enough to breed a replacement heifer. The herd has went through its expansion phase now so the next phase will be building on the genetics that already exist in the herd and to get those cows to perform to their genetic potential. All heifers will be bred to dairy A.I. as these have the highest genetic merit in the herd. We run stock bulls after a few rounds of A.I. our senior herd sire is a Hereford bull called F. H. Unique, we bought him a few years ago at the premier Hereford bull sale in Tullamore and he is breeding consistency quality calves and most importantly he’s easy calving. To be busy calving in February we need to be busy breeding in May, there are a lot of variables but we can just do our part.

Eoin Neylon

An inside look at Clare’s political spectrum

Super League would have hit Clare grassroots

“S

PORT and politics should not mix” is a quote that is all too often bandied around. It’s also one of the greatest pieces of nonsense ever uttered. There are rarely more political organisations, in terms of the inner workings, than sporting ones, and that has been highlighted locally and internationally in recent weeks. Starting with the latest sporting controversy, the move by Europe’s “top 12 clubs” to try form a European Super League (ESL) was inherently a political move. It was driven by hyper capitalism to invent a close shop football league in which the profits would be centralised and ring fenced for just the clubs in question. Before it collapsed, it had the potential to spell devastation for domestic and grassroots football here in Ireland. The Football Association of Ireland is majorly dependant on funding from FIFA, UEFA and the Irish Government to stay afloat. It is no secret that the organisation is already in dire financial straits, even before the impact of the pandemic. Any potential breakaway league would have taken huge revenue streams away from UEFA and this in turn would have meant less of a grant for the FAI and in turn, the grassroots in Clare. Local leagues like the Clare District Soccer League would more so have depended on the generosity of local businesses to stay going in the face of what little funding they receive from the FAI drying up. The Irish Government have already bailed out the FAI to the tune of €30mn in recent times and certainly could not justify throwing more money their way on the back of dented UEFA finances and therefore national grants. Make no mistake about this, if the Super League went ahead, football in all corners of Europe and around the World would be changed utterly and irreparably damaged. Instead, fan power killed the ESL before it got off the ground, with several club Presidents being forced

lVOCAL: Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was outspoken against the plans for a so-called Super League

to resign in the wake of the ESL collapse. Such centralisation of power is often driven by greed and can often lead to corruption as we have seen time and again in the history of sport. The Sepp Blatter saga in FIFA tells us that such centralisation makes demigods out of people, leading them to believe in their heart of hearts that the game cannot survive locally without their presence at the helm. Small favours turn into expectations of support and a cycle of abuse of power begins. Ultimately, Blatter and his associates did long lasting harm to World football, which in some small way contributed to the original concept of the ESL. Nevertheless, there was also significant political pressure from the European Commission, which had signaled that a ESL may break European Competition Law, and the British Government, which had threatened a tightening up on visas and a new windfall tax to be applicable on clubs. For once, the political world appeared united in condemnation of the move and may be seen as one of the good guys fighting against unadulterated greed. Ironic! However, having a demigod figure does not necessarily lead to corruption, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with other pitfalls that can also hugely damage a sport they profess to love. Often, people do get to the belief that an organisation cannot survive without them. They believe that they have been in position

so long that there is no one else who could step into their shoes and that were they to leave, the house would fall down behind them. All the while though, the organisation stagnates, stuck with the same old ideas and personnel that haven’t been able to keep up with the times in a quickly changing landscape. As adult sport, at all levels, becomes more ‘professional’ in nature, some officials remain rooted to amateur game thinking. Change is a dirty word in so many aspects of Irish society and vast ‘political’ networks are maintained in certain sporting organisations in order to keep the status quo in place, even when the performances on the pitch are not matching the ambition of the fans and trophy cabinets remain far emptier than they should be. This is particularly visible with the GAA where the organisations mantra of amateurism has seen development of the national sports stagnant badly at almost every level. I often remark though, sitting in any GAA ground I find myself in, that there are only two types of people not getting paid to be there: the ordinary supporter buying the tickets in the stand and the players on the pitch providing the entertainment. Remind me again how it’s not a professional organisation? Change can be scary, but a fear of change stops progress, evolution and growth. It’s no wonder other sports are growing at the GAA’s expense.

20 FEATURES

What's important

RONAN SCULLY

Thought for the week

LL of us, with different dreams, different goals and different perspectives, wake up each morning with a purpose or new goal or idea and continue on our different journey's of life. Lots of us after the last few months of what has been the hardest lockdown of the past year have probably if you're like me recharged the batteries a bit and have set new goals and challenges and dreams for ourselves. All of us are unique and distinctive from one another, yet there are similar things which bring us all together irrespective of all the differences and contrasts we have. If personalities or being make us different and unique, emotions make us alike. If beliefs, religion and none divide us, humanity brings us together. If choices and goals make us different, love makes us alike.

A Face of Love

There is a wonderful, old story about the great Leonardo Da Vinci that I love. When Leonardo was painting the Last Supper it took him several years to complete it. He had decided to use live models for Christ and each of the twelve Apostles. He chose the model for Jesus first when he found a man whose face radiated both beauty and unconditional love. As the years went on Leonardo completed each of the Apostles except for Judas Iscariot. Finally, he found a man whose face seemed full of avarice, viciousness, deceit, and hypocrisy. After he finished painting the man as Judas, the man asked if Leonardo knew who he was. When Leonardo said no, the man replied, "I am the same man you painted years ago as the figure of Christ." This story reveals a spiritual truth and that is, no matter how old or young we are, the appearance of our faces can often show the condition of our souls. I have seen rugged, scarred, weather beaten faces that when they smiled still showed the beauty of angels and eyes full of love. I have also seen young, wrinkle free faces with eyes as cold as ice and bitter smiles full of both fear and hate. The good news, however, is that it is never too late to change your face, your heart, and your life. It is never too late to fill your soul with love and care and mercy and let it shine through your eyes and actions. I only hope that my own face no matter how old or wrinkled it gets and it is getting older as I write this thought for the week, is always a

face of love. I hope each and every face is a face of kindness, goodness, gentleness, helpfulness, hopefulness, and joyfulness. I hope it is a reflection of God's love for us all. May your own life always sparkle with goodness and God. May your eyes always shine with the light of joy. And may everyone who looks at you always see a face full of love.

I believe....

A prayer about what someone believed life to be for them that I found in my Nana Scully's prayerbook goes as follows, "I believe through my experiences of living on my journey of life so far, that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them. I believe that no matter how much you care, some people just don't care back. I believe that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it. I believe that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts. I believe that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something. I believe that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it. I believe that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life. I believe that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them. I believe that either you control your attitude or it controls you. I believe that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place. I believe that learning to forgive takes practice. I believe that money is a lousy way of keeping score. I believe that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. I believe that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love. I believe that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many years you've lived. I believe that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed you. I believe that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. I believe that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.

Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. I believe that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief. I believe that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do. I believe that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions. I believe that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever. I believe that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process. I believe that there are many ways of falling and staying in love. I believe that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you. I believe that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help. I believe most of all that writing, as well as talking, can ease emotional pains. I believe that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being. I believe that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon. I believe the appearances you give from your face return to you in the way people treat you from what they have seen in your face. Give out love, kindness, truth, care and mercy."

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week as we hope and pray for brighter days to come, don't lose sight of what's important. Don't lose hope when life gets tough. Don't give up on your dreams for the future. Don't sell yourself short in life. Don't forget how to hug, to laugh, to smile. Don't be too proud to cry. Don't be hateful or hurtful. Don't forget to say, "thank you", "I am sorry" and "I love you" each and every day. Don't expect there will always be a tomorrow. Don't forget that one small kindness pays you back two fold. Everybody has something to offer. Indeed, most of us have many things to offer and, in a lot of cases, special expertise is not required. A face of love cures all ills. We are all capable of giving that which people need most of all: Love. Love translates into time, service and the sharing of oneself. Don't give up. Share the love, share your love. Be a face of love. And remember that there is no better thing that you can do in life than to love someone or care for someone or be there for someone. Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. I pray that each of you that have read this thought for the week today and on other occasions, may be blessed always and in all ways.

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Michael goes above and beyond for ISPCC PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

CLARE man has raised over €10,000 for ISPCC Childline in the space of 100 days. Michael Casey carried out 100 pull-ups a day for a period of 100 days, all in aid of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) Childline. Donations to the online fundraiser will remain open for another week as the carer does his bit to assist of young people using the service. Speaking to The Clare Echo, Michael admitted he thought the odds were against him as he passed the €9000 mark on day 100 of the fundraiser. However, running an Instagram Live event whereby he did 800 pull-ups over the course of five hours generated plenty of interest and also saw donations climb. Extra challenges such as the addition of 10kg, 20kg and then 25kg coincided with his final 300 pull-ups. Deciding to do 800 pullups on the final day was very poignant, he outlined. "The number 800 is very significant because it is the amount of children that contact the service every day. People will say to do 800 pull-ups in one day is a very big number but it raises awareness of children who reach out to use the service". He said, "The figure of 800 is far too much. Parents might

not think their child is ringing ISPCC Childline but it is up to them to have the conversation. There is still a mental health stigma, they might feel awkward or embarrassed but you never know who they are talking to on the phone so it is important to have the conversation". Michael added, "We have to make sure children are okay, they are our future after all. Nothing shapes our future more than childhood so it is very important to give them the most positive childhood we can". With a personal best of 23 maximum reps, Michael is keen to bring this up to 30 and has said he won't be giving up pullups anytime soon. For now, he is letting his hands heal after skin ripped during the live challenge, the effects were still felt on Tuesday morning with his hands bleeding when he got off the bike after his 15 minute cycle to work. Casey is confident he will host a "bigger and better" fundraiser in the future and committed to having further involvement with ISPCC. "I'd love to raise more awareness for young people, if I take anything from it I would advocate for less privileged groups. I have always advocated that children got the short straw in the lockdown, they were taken out of school, they couldn't see their friends and they had no sport but they are the lucky ones because the people in abusive homes have it much worse".

lRAISING THE BAR: Michael Casey did 100 pull-ups a day for 100 days

Community THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

COMMUNITY CONTACT NEWSDESK

065 671 9021 news@clareecho.ie

NORTH CLARE

l SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: Congratulations to CBS Ennistymon 3rd year Coding student, Tom Dandoy, who has qualified for the National Final of the Scratch Coding Competition 2021. The final took place online yesterday. Tom is one of 34 finalists from 215 entrants in the competition. Tom has designed a computer game using scratch called Spaceship Battles 3 and you can check out this amazing game by logging onto the CBS Ennistymon school website and clicking on the link.

NORTH CLARE BURREN ECOTOURISM NETWORK ENCOURAGES LOCAL CLEAN-UP Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22. Established in 1970, the objective of this global campaign is to highlight environmental issues around the world, and how local communities are getting involved to provide solutions. The Burren Ecotourism Network has joined forces with other community groups in the region to tackle head-on the crisis of litter management. “We have taken inspiration from Earth Day to launch an awareness campaign to better manage and ultimately prevent litter in the Burren,” states Jarlath O’Dwyer, CEO of the Burren Ecotourism Network. “We are looking at a variety of approaches including organised clean-ups, pro-active social media campaigns as well as working with Clare County Council and established networks such as Clean Coasts and Leave No Trace.” The members of the Burren Ecotourism Network have been focused on keeping their local patches litter free over the years through the Adopt a Hedge Row and this year’s Earth Day campaign is about action, through litter picking, clear outs of local fly tipping blackspots as well as creating awareness of how everyone can play a part in keeping the Burren clean, and free of non-biodegradable waste. This April several clean-ups took place in the Burren with an army of volunteers from each town and village. “We are extremely fortunate to have several committed community groups in the Burren area who have been doing trojan work for decades to try and keep our beautiful area clean and protected. Groups like BurrenBeo and the Tidy Towns for Doolin, Lisdoonvarna, Kilfenora and Ballyvaughan,” Jarlath said. The network has launched a social media campaign with photos showing a household bin on one side labelled ‘A Bin’ and well-known Burren landscapes on the other side labelled ‘Not a Bin’. “Most people are very careful with refuse...so we are actively encouraging the small minority of people to dispose of their rubbish more responsibly, it would make a huge difference.”

Members of The Burren Ecotourism Network, Doolin Tourism and Doolin Tidy Towns at Doolin pier including from left to right, Olwyn Egan, Cathy Normoyle, Joan Hamilton, Dara & Niall Hughes, Karen and Myles Duffy and Jarlath O’Dwyer

22 BUSINESS & RECRUITMENT

BUSINESS AND RECRUITMENT

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Change aplenty at Clare FM as Grace set for departure PÁRAIC MCMAHON paraic@clareecho.ie

ORNING F o c u s p re s e nt e r and Head of News, Gavin Grace is to leave Clare FM. Loughrea native, Grace has fronted the flagship show on Clare FM since 2015 taking over the reigns from John Cooke who has now gone on to report for RTÉ Radio One.

The Clare Echo understands that Gavin will leave the media industry having handed recently handed in his notice. It brings to an end his 11 years with the radio station. On Wednesday, Clare FM began advertising to find Gavin’s successor as Morning Focus presenter. Two members of Clare FM’s sales staff are to also leave their respective positions in the coming weeks, The Clare Echo has learned. Meanwhile, the station has appointed Ronan McManamy as its new CEO.

Formerly the Managing Director of The Irish Examiner and Evening Echo, Ronan succeeds Tipperary native Liam O’Shea who retired last October. During the interim, the station was managed by the existing leadership of General Manager Susan Murphy and Head of Operations Padraic Flaherty. In addition to his role at Clare FM, Ronan has also been appointed as CEO at Tipp FM, with whom Clare FM have operated an alliance for over a decade.

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Consultation on Cliffs of Moher

AN EXTENSIVE public and stakeholder consultation process has commenced as part of the development of a sustainable longterm masterplan the Cliffs of Moher aimed at delivering a world-class visitor experience at Ireland’s most popular natural attraction. Clare County Council is working, with a multi-disciplinary consultancy team led by Haley Sharpe Design, to prepare the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040. The focus of the work to date has been on extensive preliminary research, on-site investigations, and desk-top studies to understand the challenges facing the Cliffs of Moher and to identify potential opportunities for helping to realise future aspirations. A four-month consultation process involving local communities, organisations,

businesses, and residents, to facilitate participation in this listening process commenced this week. The process includes online workshops, feedback sessions, focus groups, written submission and surveys. “The consultation phase of the strategy is a key stage of the process,” explained Leonard Cleary, Director of Rural Development, Clare County Council. “Initial meetings have taken place this week with a series of other meetings and workshops to follow over the next three to four months,” he added. “The level of interest and participation shown by tourism, business and community groups and businesses in these early stages of the process bodes well for the development of an inclusive and sustainable strategy for the future

development of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and wider tourism sector.” Among the key stakeholders participating in the consultation process is the Burren Ecotourism Network (BEN), National Parks and Wildlife Service (NWPS), Clare Local Development Company (CLDC), Fáilte Ireland, County Clare Tourism Recovery Taskforce, Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, and all staff and tenants of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, as well as staff of the Planning, Roads and Tourism departments of Clare County Council. We are inviting the public to have their say and make submissions. To register interest please email; com2040@haleysharpe.com Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs

of Moher Visitor Experience, commented, “The public’s participation in this consultation process is crucial to everybody’s aspirations for the Cliffs being considered as part of the final strategy. It is intended that the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 will focus on creating world-class experiences, enhancing the special qualities of the site and growing the Cliffs of Moher’s contribution to the county in a sustainable way.” The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is the most visited natural attraction in Ireland attracting 1.6m visitors during 2019. Full details of the consultation process for the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 may be viewed online at www.cliffsofmoher.ie.

BUSINESS & RECRUITMENT 23

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Airport has ‘a lot to gain’ through business aviation and promotion of pre-clearance PÁRAIC MCMAHON

paraic@clareecho.ie

RE-CLEARANCE facilities at Shannon Airport strengthen its ability to capitalise on the business aviation model, a former board member has said. Tipperary native Joe Buckley worked at Shannon Airport for 37 years until taking early retirement last September. He served as Airport Terminal Manager, Cargo & Technical Traffic Business Development Manager and most recently Business Relations Manager. He has also held roles as a Director on both the Boards of Shannon Airport and later Shannon Group. Last October, he as founding executive director alongside Josh Stewart (founding chairman) and Dave Scully (founding vicechairm) established the Irish Business & General Aviation Association (IBGAA) with a view to having an all-Ireland association to represent business aviation across the country. The IBGAA describe themselves as a not for

profit organisation. General Manager of Dromoland Castle, Mark Nolan, Kenneth Fielding the General Manager at Signature Flight Support in Shannon, Operations Manager of Woodgate Aviation, Keith McKay, Chief Operating Officer at ACASS Ireland, Captain Russ Alchorne and Liam Murphy the General Manager of Universal Aviation Ireland are the first board members. Membership of the International Business of Aviation Council has been secured, while the 15 members of IBGAA that have signed up thus far also obtain membership on the Council of European Business Aviation Association. “We want to give our members value for money,” Joe stated. Structure was the initial focus of the IBGAA and now they will work on growing their membership. Speaking to The Clare Echo, Joe confirmed that IBGAA has sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan (GP) and Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin (GP). “We will be very focused on environmental issues and bringing value to the island of Ireland in business aviation, we will work towards a national plan for

the development of business aviation which would be inter-agency, you would have the different agencies involved, you would have a strategy at national level with promotions overseas”. Benefits of business aviation have not been fully realised, Joe maintained. “They see people travelling by private jet and maybe feel it is a group of people who may not bring huge value to the country but the thing about business aviation is that the decision makers travel because of time constraints, they are often CEOs of companies and company owners. They add considerable value to Ireland from the point of view of tourism, we’re very lucky in the Shannon region with the quality hotels we have with the likes of Trump Doonbeg, Dromoland and Adare Manor, amazing facilities so the focus should be on high-value tourism and getting tourism in, a lot of people will travel by private jet”. Business aviation is not just centred in Dublin, he emphasised. “In Shannon’s case, we’re the second busiest airport in the country after Dublin for business aviation, what a lot of people wouldn’t realise is that in 2019, we had 4,405 business

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jet movements which is a considerable amount coming through, we were up something like 7.6 percent on 2018.” Shannon Airport he calculated has already 70 per cent of the Middle-East and European business aviation traffic heading to the North-Atlantic. The Limerick resident who was involved with the development and promotion of US pre-clearance facilities described it as “a ground-breaker” and “a fantastic facility” to drive business aviation; “it is such a major asset for Shannon to promote itself as the first in the world to have it but also within the business aviation community to grow more business”. There is “a lot to gain” by growing business aviation and further promoting pre-clearance at Shannon, Joe believed. “It is at the centre of business aviation with a number of companies and business jet operators already operating in the Airport, you have some worldclass brands doing handling and it is well positioned to benefit from business aviation. I think because of COVID and everything that has happened, there will be more of a focus if you have money you will

l INSIGHT: Joe Buckley look at travelling by private jet to avoid crowded airports, Ireland has a lot to gain there.” He added, “There is opportunity for new start-ups in Shannon, it could be in transatlantic operation or management companies in Shannon, there is opportunity for more traffic to come through and also on the tourism side to grow”.

Manager for a West Clare leisure facility Peach Recruitment are looking to recruit an experienced Manager for a West Clare leisure facility. This is a full-time role with broad responsibilities associated in managing an established facility and its future development. derek@peach.ie 061-362000

24 NEWS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

Sport Clare Echo THE

22-04-21

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Harnett set to line out for Cratloe SEAMUS HAYES

Kevin Hartnett in action for Clare. Photo by Gerard O’Neill

CLARE senior footballer Kevin Harnett will play his club football with Cratloe this year. Harnett recently transferred from Meelick to Newmarket-on-Fergus where he now resides. Having secured the transfer he successfully applied for permission to assist Cratloe, a neighbouring club to Newmarket, in senior football this year. Incidentally Harnett played minor football with Cratloe when his former club did not have teams in

pg 25

juvenile competition. He won a Junior A championship with Meelick. Recent seasons have seen the Banner defender line out for Newmarket Celtic in county, provincial and national competitions. The primary school teacher formerly played for Limerick clubs Corbally Utd and Somerville Rovers during his youth. His addition to Cratloe will be a big boost to the 2020 county finalists. The club are managed by Clare boss Colm Collins who was also over the Cratloe minors when Kevin last wore Blue and White.

15 clubs to compete in O’Gorman Cup By SEAMUS HAYES

FIFTEEN teams will compete for the 2021 O’Gorman cup, a senior football competition organised annually by Doonbeg GAA in memory of John O’Gorman who served Doonbeg and Clare GAA in a variety of positions over many year. The competition was inaugurated in 2006 and the first winners were Lissycasey. They are the current holders of the title and will be chasing their fifth success in the competition this year when they will also be attempting to take home the title for the third year in a row. The draw was made on

Tuesday night and the teams have been divided into three groups of five. The fixtures and dates will be decided when COVID-19 restrictions allow for club games to be played

This year’s groupings are; Group 1: St. Breckans, St Josephs Miltown, Banner, Lissycasey and Doonbeg. Group 2: O’Currys, Naomh Eoin, Ballyvaughan, Kilmurry Ibrickane and Cooraclare Group 3: Kilrush Shamrocks, Clondegad, Ennistymon, Kilmihil and Kildysart

Ennis owned Cragmoher Gypsy comes good at third attempt second passing halfway and Aulton Tiger also began to close. Rounding the home bend Ballylean Rogue was home and hosed as he defeated the staying on Aulton Tiger by a length and a half in 30.81. Ennistymon’s Pat Crowe owned Brother Joe made a winning debut in race five, a novice sprint contest as the Donal Duggan of Tulla trained son of Droopys Sydney & Sarista proved four and a half lengths too good for Clydagh Tommy in 19.45. Clydagh Tommy was smartly into stride along the rails but as he drifted outwards on the run towards the opening bend the winner took the inside route to lead by a length at the turn. Rounding the home bend Brother Joe was three lengths clear and he lengthen well in the straight to win going away at the line. Spancilhill duo Padraig and Joe Ward were celebrating following the S9 graded sprint contest. Both Croaghll Mick and Loveable Rogue were smartly into their strides with the former holding a two length advantage approaching the opening bend. Rounding the bend though the Spanchill owned Loveable Rogue made rapid progress on the outside and despite moving wide off the home bend quickly took command of the contest edging away to defeat Craoghill Mick by three parts of a length in 19.68. A strong finish from the Gerry Holian trained Tigerintempo in the A2 graded 550 was enough to hold off Noelles Torello who held a narrow advantage on the outside. Racing down the back straight the lead grew to a length at one stage but approaching the penultimate corner the Clare Gallery and David Ryan of Shannon owned Tigerintempo was back on terms and finished stronger to prevail by a length and three parts in 30.18.

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ENNIS owned Cragmoher Gypsy came good at her third attempt to taste victory in Galway. In trouble on both career outings thus far, the Gerard Kenny of Ennis owned Cragmoher Gypsy made no mistake at the third attempt in race nine at the Galway Track on Saturday night last as she routed her rivals by upwards of seven lengths in 29.37. Very smartly into her stride, the winner led Cuilbeg Mo Chrois and Runaway Dream by over a length rounding the opening two bends. Racing past halfway the lead had grown to four lengths as she set sail for home and drawing further clear with every stride Cragmoher Gypsy was full value for her margin of victory. Cloneyogan Jet owned by Siobhan Garrahy of Lahinch finally registered that all important maiden career victory in race five which was a A6 graded contest as she made just about all the running to defeat Sports Show by five and a half lengths in 29.21. Trapping well Cloneyogan Jet led Peteles Countess and Astro Oisin on the run towards the opening bend and turning down the back she led Peteles Countess by half a length. Passing halfway, Sports Show began to make ground on the leader but Cloneyogan Jet kicked clear between the final two bends to win going away in fine style. Friday night’s card at the Track featured the College Road A6 550 Yards Stake Semi Finals In the second semi-final, Pierview Roisin and Ballylean Rogue disputed the lead racing towards the opening bend with Astro Suzie and Mackie Blackie tracking th leading pair around the opening two bends. Racing down the back straight the Joe Kelly of Ballynacally owned Ballylean Rogue took command of the contest as Astro Suzie moved

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Full timesheets expected at Woodstock By SEAMUS HAYES

ITH golf courses set to reopen on Monday timesheets opened earlier this week and within a few hours of opening the “full up” notices went up for Woodstock. The popular club on the outskirts of Ennis benefitted from a huge influx of new members last year when the club opened after lockdown and the indications are that there will be another big influx of new members this year. “We already have got twenty new members this year and applications are coming in steadily”, explained manager Anne Marie Russell this week. Like all clubs there was a big drop off in income as a result of the recent lockdown with a huge loss in the number of societies and golf classics at the club. The powers that be at the club are looking forward to their many regular societies returning to hold their annual events at the club and Anne Marie can be contacted regarding dates and arrangements.

“A lot of work has been carried out on greens and tee boxes, thanks mainly to a huge voluntary imput from the members. Everything is ready for Monday when play can resume. As per the regulations, it will be casual golf initially and competitions won’t resume until Golf Ireland allow clubs to host their regular weekly events. We will be complying with all Covid 19 protocols”, explained the manager. Officers Matt Power (President), Liam O’Connor and Fiona Landy, the men’s and ladies captains, have remained in place for a second term. The club which has a membership of 650, participates in the various Golf Ireland inter club men’s and ladies competitions and their honours lists includes two All-Ireland Pierce Purcell titles, a Munster mixed foursomes title as well as having had success in the J.B. Carr and Michael Cashman seniors competitions. Woodstock has a thriving junior section which has a membership of one hundred and twenty. Ross Darmody is the club’s junior convenor and his team of coaches includes Aine

Donegan and Aideen Walsh who devote a lot of time in the summer months to the coaching of the junior ladies at the club. Aine, shortly to travel to Indiana in the U.S. on scholarship and Aideen have come through the junior division at the club and they have gone on to help Lahinch to success in the ladies senior cup. “All in the club wish Aine every success in Indiana and look forward to seeing her achieve further success in the coming years”, commented Russell. The club was founded in 1993 and is situated on the outskirts of Ennis. Designed by Arthur Spring it features a tough opening hole, a loop of holes (6-8) around a lake that can spoil a card early, and it provides six excellent finishing holes. Holes six, seven and eight are known as Woodstock’s Amen Corner’. For now the focus is very much on the re-opening of the course on Monday next and, as was the case last year, full timesheets are likely to be the order of the day over the coming weeks.

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Ciara Grogan is confident Clare will build on their 2020 progress. Photo by Caroline O’Keeffe

Ciara and Clare hope to build on last year By PÁRAIC McMAHON

THEY’VE only returned to collective training but there is already an evident ambition rippling among the Clare senior camogie panel, defender Ciara Grogan maintained. Last year saw Clare reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals for the first time since 2014 while an impressive league win over eventual All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in Nowlan Park stood out as the highlight of the camogie year in the Banner County. Although they lost to Waterford, Clare defeated Offaly and were on course to reach the knockout stages of the League until the competition was scrapped due to COVID-19. Speaking to The Clare Echo, corner back Ciara Grogan outlined that the progress has fuelled momentum in their squad. “I feel like we’re such an ambitious group and management, we want to build on last year, although we had a break from each other we’ve always been doing constant Zoom talks and training together online. I do think that momentum has been brought into this year and I think it will be brought to our first L e ag u e game with Galway, I am very confident that we will build on last year”. Neighbours Galway and Limerick have been paired alongside Clare in the Littlewoods Ireland National Camogie League beginning their campaign away to the Tribeswoman on May 15th. “I do think they will be very tough matches, we played them last year and the year before so we know what they’re like but again we’re going to focus on ourselves for the next four weeks”. Ordinarily there is a sense of dread for the first collective session of a year with the thoughts of tough pre-season training looming overhead. That was not the case when Clare’s camogie side resumed training at Fr Mc-

Namara Park on Monday evening. “Doing those sessions on your own are really difficult and you don’t have the girls around you motivating you or to bounce off. People are looking forward to being around each other and to get motivation off them,” Ciara said. “It is actually mad when you think about it that we haven’t seen each other for months. Usually you only have a two month break during November and December, seeing them and going back tonight will be actually brilliant and I can’t wait to see everybody. We might be sick of each other after this week but it will be good to get back to them,” the Clooney native added. A Maths and PE teacher at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla, Ciara equated in-school learning in the classroom with that of collective training sessions. “I don’t think you can beat having the children in front of you and teaching them there rather than online, a lot of students would prefer to be with their friends in school and going from class to class, I think it is brilliant that everybody got back after Easter”. Club Clare’s importance in providing financial support to the panel was stressed by the UL graduate. “It is so important for us to have funding to compete at the highest level, it is a brilliant initiative because at the moment it is so difficult to fundraise in the current circumstances, it is great to see there has been so much raised, we’ve over €100,000 raised, to have that shared between eleven squads is absolutely brilliant”. During her time at UL, Ciara won four Ashbourne Cup titles and witnessed the benefits firsthand of adequate resources. “We were very much on par with the higher level men’s and ladies footballers but you would be looking at other people’s county teams saying they are getting this but we are also getting bits, I don’t like pitting against other county teams because we have been given a lot of resources and a lot of time has been put into that by the County Board and our management, obviously the more we fundraise the better it is and I think it is brilliant that we’re doing Club Clare. All the people supporting Club Clare are supporting men and women but they are also supporting all codes, underage and senior, you’re supporting a lot”.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

PLANNING NOTICES CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL FURTHER INFORMATION / REVISED PLANS PLANNING REF: P20/616 Development Description: For Permission for the Construction of a new vehicular entrance to serve existing dwelling including ancillary site works & For permission for construction of new Boundary Wall. Also permission is sought for the demolition of structure attached to existing dwelling, previously approved under P8-13755 & P8- 21796 for use as Restaurant with associated Kitchen, Prep Area, Toilets, Office, entrance porch Reception Area & Attached Garage Location : Clonmoney West Tld., Hurlers Cross, Newmarket on Fergus, Co. Clare. Take notice that Gary & Louise McGahon has lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P20/616. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cos t of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council , Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority or in the case of a planning application accompanied by an EIS within 5 weeks of receipt of such not ices by the planning authority. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL KILLASPUGLONANE, LAHINCH, CO CLARE. Take notice that Shane Droney intends to apply for permission to partially demolish the existing Stables and build a new Dwelling , install a Wastewater Treatment Unit and all associated site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL POULNAGUN, LISDOONVARNA, CO CLARE. Take notice that James Hurst intends to apply for permission to RETAIN the

house as built on site, which differs from that granted under reference P99/1802 and for PERMISSION to upgrade the existing wastewater treatment system using the existing entrance onto the public road and all associated site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL MOUNTRIVERS, DOONBEG, CO CLARE. Take notice that Joseph Sexton intends to apply for permission to RETAIN: 1. The house as built on site, which is a mirror image of that granted under reference P98/1903; 2. The attached Garage and Rear Porch and 3. The Detached Steeltech Storage Shed and for PERMISSION to revise the Boundaries granted under P98/1903 and all associated site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL, SLIEVENALICKA, MILTOWN MALBAY, CO CLARE Take notice that H. & K. Geiss intend to apply to the Planning Authority for permission to demolish an existing extension and construct a new single storey extension to the rear of their dwelling house along with ancillary site works at the above address. That the planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYMORRIS, CRATLOE, CO. CLARE. I, Darragh and Valerie Griffin intend to apply to the abovenamed Planning Authority for permission to construct a dwelling house, garage, entrance, wastewater treatment system, and associated site works at Ballymorris, Cratloe, Co. Clare. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority, Clare County Council Offices, New Road, Ennis Co. Clare 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. The planning authority may grant permission subject to, or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLROUGHAN SOUTH, KILMURRY, 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 Tony Griffey for permission to (a) demolish previously constructed extensions (b) construct new extension and carry out alterations to dwellinghouse (c) Install new septic tank and percolation area 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 SCHOOL ROAD, ATTYCRISTORA, LAHINCH, CO. CLARE Take notice that Brian Foudy & Associates Ltd of Osprey House, Carmody Street, Ennis, Co. Clare 065 6893565 www. foudyconsulting.ie. Intend to apply to the planning authority on behalf of John Talty Construction Ltd for permission to construct 8 No. detached 4 bedroom dwellinghouses together with all associated site development works and connections to

public 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 MOYFADDA, LABASHEEDA, 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 Gerard & Mary McNamara for permission to (a) demolish existing attached cottage (b) Construct a side extension to existing dwellinghouse 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 THE CLIFFS OF MOHER HOTEL, LISCANNOR, CO.CLARE Take notice that The Cliffs of Moher Hotel Ltd. intends to apply for planning permission for development at The Cliffs of Moher Hotel, Liscannor, Co.Clare. The development will consist of the construction of extension to existing hotel, associated site works and services. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL TULLAGOWER, KILRUSH, CO. CLARE Take notice that Joseph & Phil Crowley are applying to Clare County Council for retention permission for the

construction of a sunroom to the side of an existing dwelling, construction of a domestic garage and alterations to the house granted under P814484 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 NOOAN, RUAN, ENNIS, CO. CLARE Take notice that Darren Bracken & Ciana Lernihan are applying for planning permission to construct a new dwelling house, access road, entrance, private garage and install a new wastewater treatment system along with all associated works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of Clare County Council during its public opening hours 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 ENAGH NORTH, KILKISHEN CO. CLARE. Planning permission is sought to construct an agricultural storage shed including agricultural entrance and all associated site works and services at above address. Applicant- John Cotter The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL FURTHER INFORMATION/ REVISED PLANS PLANNING REF: P21/27 Development Description: new dwelling house, shed, site entrance, wastewater treatment system and associated site works. Location: Glendree, Feakle, Co. Clare. Take notice that David

Hodgson and Enric Muniente Fillat have lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P21/27. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co.Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority or in the case of a planning application accompanied by an EIS within 5 weeks of receipt of such notices by the planning authority. CLARE CO. COUNCIL WOODPARK, BUNRATTY, CO. CLARE. Take notice that Bernard Quinn intends to apply for permission for development, the development consists of the construction of a slatted unit extension onto existing slatted unit and associated site works at the above address. The planning application maybe inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application. CLARE CO. COUNCIL DEERPARK, SIXMILEBRIDGE, CO. CLARE. Take notice that Kevin McInerney intends to apply for permission for development, the development consists of the construction of a calving unit, extension to existing silage slab with new silage wall and associated site works at the above address. The planning application maybe inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

CROSBY MIKE Corrib Drive Shannon

Passed away 21st March 2021

Mike’s family would like to thank most sincerely all those who sympathised on our great loss. To our many friends and neighbours, who brought food, sent mass cards, letters, online condolences, flowers and messages

of sympathy we are eternally grateful. To everyone who assembled in Collins Park, Corrib drive and Shannon crematorium, to bid farewell to Mike on his final journey, we were overwhelmed and we thank you all. Thanks to McMahons undertakers, Shannon crematorium and PJ Burke for your guidance and professionalism. A special thank you to all those who remembered Mike and shared their fond memories with us, it was truly heartwarming. Please acccept this acknowlegement as an expression of our deepest gratitude.

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Most Holy Apostle St. Jude faithful servant & friend of Jesus. The Church honours & invokes you universally as the patron of hopeless cases, of matters almost despaired of. Pray for me I am so helpless & alone. Make use I implore you of that particular privilege given to you, to bring speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation & help of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations & sufferings & that I may praise God with you & all the Elect forever. I promise O Blessed St. Jude to be ever mindful of this great favour to always honour you as my special & powerful patron & to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen. This prayer must be said for 9 consecutive days & published immediately & in 3 days the favour will be granted.

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30 PUZZLEPAGE

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

THIS WEEKS PUZZLES APR 22

SUDOKU

Beam

5 5

How to play

ANSWERS

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.

1 6

7 3

7 8 1 9 5 6 4

3 1

2 7

5 9

2 4

8 5

Vivid

Sunny

Shiny

Shining

How to play

Sheen

HOW TO PLAY

Rosy

1/1

Radiant

1/1

Lucent

Lambent

Golden

Gloss

Glitter

Glisten

Gleam

Effulgent

Dazzle

Bright

WORD SEARCH

4/20/2021

) 5( 4 )

) 7 ( 3l ) 9( r e 6

) 7 ( l+ a4 , %

) 6( 3 4/20/2021

1/1

The Clare Echo Crossword 1

ACROSS

1 Formal headgear (3,3) 4 Go aboard (6) 8 Concerning (5) 9 Violent whirling windstorm (7) 10 Popular cheese (7) 11 Lifeless (5) 12 Uncivilised person (9) 17 Light purple colour (5) 19 Collection of books (7) 21 Marine animal (3,4) 22 Shoulder-wrap (5) 23 Main meal (6) 24 Slow down (6)

OFFER ENDS APRIL 30th 2021

) 5( ) 9(

) 7( mr o4 3=

DOWN

1 Roof of straw or reeds (6) 2 Adage (7) 3 Performed (5) 5 Gin and vermouth cocktail (7) 6 Hard stone (5) 7 Intricate (6) 9 Heavy waterproof cover (9) 13 Lie back (7) 14 North American falls (7) 15 Shut (6) 16 Rode a bike (6) 18 Gain knowledge (5) 20 Moisten with hot fat (5)

CROSSWORD ANSWERS D

E A

C 51

Y N

B 21

R A

L 71

S 12

D 32

C 01

T O

R 7

B 6

M 5

T 4

H 3

O 2

T 1

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QUIZ 31

THURSDAY, APR 22 2021

The Clare Echo Quiz

CAMOGIE NICKNAMES

Flares Wooly Socks

2011 senior championship winning 3 captain with Newmarket-on-Fergus, Carol Toomey is also known as which character from the Tweenies? Fizz Milo Doodles

Clare and Inagh/Kilnamona attack4 er, Aoife Keane is dubbed with what nickname? Peas Pepper Beans

Munster championship winning 5 goalkeeper with Scariff/Ogonnelloe Aisling Corbett has a nickname which is also a common men’s name, what is it? Fred Bob Sid

Which current Clare player is also 7 known as Skorty? Maire McGrath Ciara Doyle Sinead Conlon

Which club manager and ex Clare 8 coach is commonly referred to as Nobby? Eugene Foudy Mike Duggan Brian Enright

Rats and Commano were the nick9 names of which members of Clare’s All-Ireland winning Junior side from

l Aoife Keane and Limerick’s Niamh Mulcahy

2008? Cathy Halley and Claire Commane Sharon McMahon and Claire Commane Laura Linnane and Claire Commane

Dual-star Niamh O’Dea has what 10 nickname? Noddy Noodle Precious

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

Photograph: Veronica McMahon

ANSWERS

6. Rusty 7. Sinead Conlon 8. Brian Enright 9. Cathy Halley and Claire Commane 10.Noddy

All Star, Chloe Morey is branded with 2 a nickname based on one piece of clothing, what is it?

Rooskie Ruso Rusty

Sticky Flares Milo Beans Bob

Toffee Puddin

Ex Éire Óg, Ruan and Clare camogie 6 player, Anne Marie Russell had what nickname?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Current Clare senior corner back, 1Sticky Ciara Grogan is also known as?

Last weeks Answers . Phone wire (top left) missing . Rail missing . Pole missing . Window (left) missing

. Tree missing . Parking line missing . Light on church missing

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