Regional

AFTER a three year wait the Ennis Players are back in their new show ‘Glorious!’ by Peter Quilter, with rehearsals are well underway for this four night production. Directed by Bernie Harten, this play is based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins. Known as ‘the first lady of the sliding scale’, she warbled and screeched her way through the evening to an audience who mostly fell about with laughter. The play details Florence’s charity recitals, her bizarre recording sessions and an ultimate triumph at Carnegie Hall in this heart-warming comedy. This production features Maeve Plunkett as Florence Foster Jenkins, Jackie Scanlan as her suffering accompanist and John Lillis as St. Clair Byfield, her boyfriend. Patricia Clune plays the sharp-tongued truth-speaking Mrs. Verrinder Gedge, Geraldine Greene is Florence’s non-English speaking Mexican maid while Emer O’Flaherty plays Dorothy, Florence’s close friend. Ricky the loyal but sleeping poodle plays himself! Director Bernie Harten says she is, “thrilled to introduce Ennis audiences …

KILRUSH native Mick Clancy is firm believer that his glass is always half full. “Sometimes I think that someone has stolen my glass, and put a smaller one in its place,” he laughs, “but still, to me, the glass is half full.” Such resilience in the face of a Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis is just one of the reasons why Mick is successfully battling the odds and working to help others with the same disabling neurological condition.”There’s an expression we use a lot in Ireland and it’s ‘never trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you’,” he remarks. “That’s the way I see it, because there’s no point in worrying about what you can’t change.” Diagnosed with a rare type of MND in 2016, Mick has adapted as best he can, staying active and participating in research and fundraising with the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). Always a physically fit and powerful man, Mick was born and raised in West …

A LIVELY night of music, song and dance is promised within the beautifully-restored walls of Cnoc na Gaoithe, Tulla, on Saturday, March 25. Since the state-of-the-art auditorium was opened last October, it has hosted packed shows featuring PJ Murrihy and Séamus Shannon, and a well-attended céilí mór to test out the new dance floor. Saturday week will see fresh, upcoming four-piece folk, ballad and trad band, The Fogues, take to the stage in a show that is set to attract an audience from across Clare and beyond. Hailed for a repertoire that covers everything “from the Dubliners to Cascada”, the band even have a bus coming from their own native Mitchelstown, such is their unique appeal. The band is made up of three Fogartys, who are first cousins, and their close friend Ted O’Brien. A champion Irish dancer, Micheál Fogarty is no stranger to Clare and has travelled overseas with Cnoc na Gaoithe, under the auspices of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. …

A WEEKEND of theatre is in store in Scariff as Sliabh Aughty Drama Group treads the boards at the local GAA club.   From Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12, the group will perform two one-act plays. Audiences will be treated to Last of the Last of The Mohicans, directed by Shane Kelly, and Losers, directed by Noel Hogan.  Last of the Last of The Mohicans tells the story of Dominick, who, having packed his wife off on retreat to an obscure saint’s shrine, is poised to enjoy an evening of passion with Grace. Grace arrives, but is soon followed by Dominick’s wife; then Grace’s husband – a formidable Aer Lingus pilot. Eventually, the situation is resolved amicably, although quite in the way that Dominick intended. Losers promises to be a spectacular show swinging from the crazy, to the incredulous and back to the mundane. It is safe to say that both plays will involve many of life’s secrets …

A GRAND finale to a musical initiative to honour to young musicians will be held on March 11 in Gort.  The Eimear Noonan Music Bursary Award was established five years ago by the family of the inspirational young musician, who died in France in 2017. A Carpe Diem concert was also held annually in Eimear’s memory. That event was originally conceived by Katharina Baker and Fiona Buckley of Coole Music to honour Eimear’s memory and celebrate her participation in the School of Music, particularly in her role as leader of the Youth Orchestra. On the night of Saturday, March 11 at 7.30pm in O’Sullivan’s Hotel, Carpe Diem Forever, will offer an opportunity to celebrate Eimear’s memory and legacy, the music she made, and the many emerging young players that she supporter and inspired.  “The initiative was originally conceived of to remember our Eimear, but later included another young musician friend, Eli Murray, who died suddenly from Juvenile diabetes in 2019,” …

VOLUNTEERS who cleaned up a well known Clare landmark were shocked to discover that just hours later bags of rubbish were dumped again. Clarecastle Tidy Towns volunteers have been striving to keep Clareabbey litter free, however a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard this week that their efforts have been undermined by illegal dumping. Calls are being made by Ennis councillors for the introduction of CCTV in locations where fly-tipping and illegal dumping have become an issue. Councillor Paul Murphy praised the work of the Clarecastle volunteers, saying he believes that CCTV could act as a deterrent against dumping rubbish. The issue of littering was highlighted at the meeting by Councillor Ann Norton who pointed out that illegal dumping “is a crime” which can result in fines or being brought to court. She stressed the importance of ‘no dumping’ signs as a visible reminder and asked for a review of the number of signs on roads, and that the …

EXTRA information is being sought by Council planners on an application for 16 new homes in the village of Quin. Abbey View Quin Property Development Ltd applied last November for the homes on a site of around one hectare which spans Maigh Dara and Ballyhannon North. The application also requests permission to amend an access road and ancillary services granted in 2017. It seeks permission too for a temporary access route from the public road at Ballyhannon North. This is for building purposes only, in order to avoid having machinery accessing the site through the existing Maigh Dara estate.  In a letter sent to the developer on January 19, planners sought Further Information (FI) on nine aspects of the plans. Given the proximity of the site to the Poulnagordon Cave and Old Domestic Buildings Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), the developer has been instructed to carry out a screening assessment to determine the potential impact. This document must include a …

A PEDESTRIAN crossing on the Gort Road has been described as “a death trap at times” as calls were made for improved safety measures to be put in place to protect vulnerable road users. A recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard a local primary school has highlighted concerns about the crossing. According to Councillor Mary Howard there have been a number of “near misses” of vulnerable road users at the pedestrian crossing at Hogan’s Shop on the Gort Road in front of Glenina and Pine Grove estates. She asked the council, “Is it possible to upgrade this crossing to make it more visible to traffic to ensure the safety of users?” Responding to the motion Paddy Tiernan, acting senior executive engineer, stated that the Ennis Municipal District “commits to reviewing this pedestrian crossing and will investigate measures to improve the visibility of the crossing. “Branches of trees which impact the visibility of the crossing will be trimmed back. …