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East Clare

Plans to further enhance 12 O’Clock Hills attractions

THE development of the stunning 12 O’Clock Hills walking trails in East Clare is to be marked in special calendar to be launched for the Christmas market. The calendar will include panoramic views from the hills, as well as the popular beauty spots along the routes, and mark the seventh anniversary of the creation of the three popular walking trails which are among the jewels in the crown of tourism locally. Funds raised by the calendar will go towards the part restoration of a ruined farmhouse in the area, as well as the creation of a carved wooden sculpture – both of which are set to add to the attractions along the Hills trails. The restoration of the house known locally as Mary Anne’s is made possible with 80% grant funding from the Heritage Council in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The stone farmhouse was reasonably intact up February 2014 but Storm Darwin blew the …

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Scariff students get set to contribute to new plan for Clare

LOCAL geography has come to life for second years at Scariff Community College, where students are making a submission to a review of the County Development Plan. Under the guidance of teacher Darina Sheridan and with support from Carmel Brislane, a planner with the council, the students are making their voices heard on the future of the school’s catchment area of Scariff, Mountshannon and Whitegate. Geography teacher Darina sees the call for submissions to the plan, which will cover 2022-2028, as an opportunity for some real-world learning. “I had looked that the plan previously with a Transition Year (TY) group and realised that there was potential here for the students to look at their own areas and to get to know then and what kind of amenities they would like to see,” she explained. Working with Clare County Council, Darina began to develop practical exercises built around the submission. “We have had Zoom calls with Carmel, which were great,” she …

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Mystery yarn-bomber returns to Whitegate

AS LOCKDOWN returns, so too has one of the most talked-about mysteries to grip East Clare this year. After an interval of several months, a person, or persons unknown, has once strewn almost every spare inch of Main Street in Whitegate – and a bit of neighbouring Mountshannon – with colourful knitted and crocheted items. Working under cover of darkness, the mystery yarn-bomber(s), have put their considerable craft expertise to use to try to brighten the dark days of Level 5 restrictions, and lift the spirits of the locality. Last week, in a coded message, the covert crocheter contacted The Champion to alert us to their activities. While swearing us to secrecy as to their identity, the yarn-bomber has pledged to leave their colourful handiwork in place until after Hallowe’en. This time around, the deer statue in Mountshannon has had his iconic antlers festooned in knitwear, while in Whitegate, there are colourful crocheted items on poles, with signs outside the …

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Flagmount woman’s poetry raises funds for IKA

A FLAGMOUNT woman is using her new-found literary talent to express her gratitude to an organisation to that supported her to donate a kidney to her husband. Reah Higgins and her husband Aaron underwent surgery in January 2017 so that the couple could share the gift of life. For a number of years up to that point, Aaron had been on gruelling dialysis to manage his chronic kidney disease. “I was a live donor in this instance and fortunately it was a success,” said Reah, “We were blessed to be a match and it was a miracle really and life changing, in that we could make plans again. We had been very restricted before with Aaron on dialysis three times a week and often ill or fatigued. He now has lots more energy, less hospital appointments and his spark back.” Together with their sons Fionn (12) and Stephen (10), the couple have been enjoying greater freedom until the pandemic hit …

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Report finds evidence of attacks on Clare birds of prey

EIGHT incidents involving the killing of birds of prey have been recorded in Clare over a ten-year period, a new report on the unnatural deaths of raptors reveals. The study was carried out by the Raptor Protocol (Recording and Addressing Persecution and Threats to Our Raptors), which involves the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Veterinary Laboratory Service and State Laboratory and published earlier this month. Incidents in this county included the poisoning of a White Tailed Sea Eagle at Lough Derg in East Clare in October 2017. Some of the other incidents recorded in this county concern the killing of peregrine falcons in the Loop Head area. The findings have prompted government to announced the setting up of a new unit within the NPWS to address wildlife crime. Nationally, a wide range of causes of death for the raptors are listed. These include poisoning, persecution, fence, road and turbine collisions. Some of the incidents would have had …

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Carpe Diem challenge goes virtual in Eimear’s memory

A BURSARY in memory of a young Caher musician and teacher will be boosted this year by an online performance and fundraising challenge, running over the next fortnight. Eimear Noonan died tragically after a fall while out running in Annonay in the south of France, were she worked at Font Chevalier Primary School. The passing of talented musician in November 2017 prompted her family to set up The Eimear Noonan Music Bursary to support others in their musical studies. The Carpe Diem concert, also became an annual event, held in November, in Eimear’s memory. Covid-19 restrictions have meant that a formal gathering this November isn’t possible, so instead, Carpe Diem has gone virtual and singers and musicians across the county are being invited to share their performances on social media between November 1 and 15. Performers are asked to post a video of a performance to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, using the hashtag #CarpeDiemSingAndPlay. They can then nominate others …

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Gardaí recover van from Broadford lake

GARDAÍ have linked a vehicle removed recently from a lake in Broadford to a crime that happened 22 years ago. A fisherman out on the water detected an image of the van on sonar equipment and alerted the authorities. After speaking to members of Killaloe Gardaí, who requested the support of the Garda Water Unit, the fisherman brought specialist officers to the location on the lake. Members of the unit launched a rib to pinpoint the exact location of the van which was brought to the surface and recovered from the water. During follow-up inquiries, Gardaí established that the vehicle had been reported stolen in 1998. Gardaí have confirmed that further enquiries are to be made.

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Broadband frustrations increase for East Clare residents working from home

FRUSTRATION at poor broadband across large sections of East Clare has intensified as more people try to work and study from home in response to the pandemic. One Tulla resident has told The Champion of her efforts to improve her family’s service which has involved contacting ten different providers, to no avail. The women, who lives just a few kilometres from the town, is a customer with Eir and uses a mobile broadband dongle. “I originally had broadband through the phone line and the service was very poor,” she explained. “The mobile device is supposed to provide wireless internet for up to ten devices, but if you have any more than two connected, it is a disaster. I’m working from home and my daughter was in Leaving Cert, so her studies had to take priority. At best, the service is okay, but that’s all. It is affected by bad weather too, which doesn’t help.” After trying ten different service providers …

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