Tag Archives: Cree

CONCERN at ongoing delays in upgrading the water service in the Miltown Malbay area has prompted one local woman to go public on the matter, saying that a fourth outage in as many weeks, has put her family and her livestock at risk. In a letter to The Clare Champion, Dolores Murphy of Rineen described a litany of issues that she and her neighbours have endured in recent years. While Irish Water has apologised for the situation, the utility has confirmed that it will be 2021 before all works to secure the supply are completed. Last week, a burst water main led to an outage affecting Miltown Malbay, Mullagh, Spanish Point, Cree, Cooraclare and those on surrounding Group Water Schemes. Commenting on the situation, Mrs Murphy, wrote: “It has come to the point where I can no longer sit in silence. In the past month (four calendar weeks) we have been without water four times. The latest interruption to service …

THE lock-down has certainly be put to good use by a eight branches of a West Clare family, whose membership extends from the Loop Head Peninsula all the way to San Francisco. Over the month of April, the Keane Family Challenge has seen more than 40 members take part in all kinds of fitness and sporting activities to raise over than €2,000 for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee. The mastermind of the fitness and fund-raising challenge is Johnny Doris of Portarlington. He is the grandson of Kathleen and John Keane, of Keane’s Pub in Carrigaholt. Their eight children include Johnny’s mother Bridget Doris, now based in County Laois, and her twin sister Mary Greene, who lives north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Johnny’s uncles Dominic and John Keane live in the US where they have been immersed in the challenge, as have his godmother Kathleen Foley of Foley’s Pub in Cross, and Mags and Pakie Keane …

TO SAY that actor Paul Mescal has been “slightly busy” lately would be something of an understatement. While he may be under lock-down with his fellow Londoners at the moment, and a long way from Cree, where his father’s family hail from, this week has seen him basking in the glow of critical and popular acclaim for his lead role in the TV adaptation of novel ‘Normal People’. Playing the part of Connell, opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne, Paul portrays a young man struggling with the highs and lows of first love, against a background of social snobbery, peer pressure and the transition to adult life. His powerful performance has earned the twenty-four year-old plaudits from heavy weight critics nationally and internationally, and tipped the Maynooth native for greater things. Paul told The Champion that the last 48 hours have been “absolutely mad”. “It’s been a bit bananas,” he said, of the buzz around the first episodes in the 12-part …

RAVE reviews are being savoured by a young actor with strong Clare links, after a massively positive response to the series ‘Normal People’, directed by Oscar-nominee Lenny Abrahamson. Twenty-four year-old Paul Mescal, whose dad hails from Cree, plays Connell in the small-screen adaptation of the Booker-prize long-listed novel by Sally Rooney. His performance, alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne, has been receiving critical and popular acclaim since the series opened this week on BBC, RTÉ and streaming service Hulu. Paul’s extended family in Cree have theatre in the blood with a big connection to the vibrant West Clare drama circuit. “My dad Paul grew up in Cree, the son of Michael and Mairéad, and we would have gotten back down to West Clare on lots of holidays over the years,” Paul told The Champion. The young actor, who grew up in Maynooth, County Kildare, lists Spanish Point as one of his favourite destinations and is hoping that once the lock-down eases, …

A West Clare company is converting waste plastic that is regarded as a blight on the countryside into an environmentally-friendly farm product without any government support. In view of all the calls from environmentalists to address climate change and improve the environment, it is reasonable to assume that IFF Plastics in Cree receives some state subsidy or incentive. However, Sharon Barrington from IFF Plastics Limited has confirmed it doesn’t receive assistance in any form to encourage farmers to purchase their eco friendly plastic posts. IFF Plastic Limited is a West Clare plastic washing, shredding and manufacturing company that takes recycling to a new level accepting all plastics from industrial factories, farms and the ocean. All recycling processes are completely customised by the plant to reuse up to 95% of all plastics accepted at the facility. Recovered ocean plastics were recently added to the process and is proving a great addition to the product. Sharon Barrington explains the current infrastructure in …

https://soundcloud.com/clarechampion/the-champion-report?fbclid=IwAR3WGEvGmDANeOfGyvmGqZGxL6576ewCtb-7fMTbCfTaz6mbFojau2SZgKM In the first edition of our new current affairs podcast The Champion Report, Carol Byrne and Owen Ryan discuss the inquest into the death of Gerard Tubridy, why Shannon Airport is being left behind and the sky high prices being sought for Lahinch accommodation during the Irish Open.

KILRUSH Gardai are investigating a burglary in the Cree area at 9.15pm on Thursday night. Gardai are advising local people not to open their doors to callers, unless they are aware of their identity. The vehicle involved in the burglary is believed to be a blue or navy English registration BMW. Kilrush Gardai are seeking further information and anybody who saw anything of interest should contact them on 065-9080550.

HIS room in St Theresa’s Nursing Home, Kilrush is neatly dotted with photographs and postcards. The photos include local GAA teams and shots of Michael McMahon with his brother, Stephen, who has lived and worked in England for 50 years. Until he was robbed and abruptly left his dilapidated home in Cree six years ago, Michael lived without electricity or running water. He had to leave his front door permanently ajar. Otherwise, his house would fill with a dense smoke from the turf fire. He kept to himself and didn’t mix, not realising what he was missing out on. Now, he is certain that he could never return to that lifestyle. “I’d be dead in a week. The cold was immense. When I’d be going to bed, my fingers would be stiff with ice after handling the clothes on the bed. I’d have to go up to the fire to try and loosen them. I was looking at a bleak …