Clare Fm - Podcasts

It is time for the eighth episode of our newest feature on Morning Focus, Village Tour, where Alan Morrissey paid a visit to Tulla. With The Village Tour, we here at Morning Focus are aiming to highlight the smaller villages and townlands around the county. By doing this, we hope to showcase their unique character, while also bringing their diversity and individuality to life for you, the listener. During each episode of Village Tour, Alan chats with three people from a particular village or townland in Clare: from locals and business owners to those involved with local sports clubs and community representatives.

Clare band XIII Doors recently released their new single and it’s making an impression. “Face The Truth” topped the iTunes main, rock and metal charts. Their previous releases received plenty of praise, while Joe Elliott from Def Leppard has been among those championing the band’s music. Alan Morrissey spoke with XIII Doors’ singer and multi-instrumentalist DJ O’Sullivan, who was raised in Shannon.

The UN Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution on Friday calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the "plausible risk of genocide in Gaza". If the draft resolution is adopted, it would mark the first time that the United Nations' Human Rights Council has taken a position on the war in Gaza. To discuss this more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Kilmaley native and Chair of Sadaka, the Irish Palestine Alliance, Éamonn Meehan and Newmarket On Fergus native, Associate Professor of Politics at DCU's School of Law and Government Donnacha Ó Beacháin. Photo (c) by 200mm from Getty Images Signature

The leader of the Social Democrats insists the correct roll-out of Sláintecare is key to resolving issues around access to healthcare in the Midwest. Holly Cairns has been speaking on a visit to Ennis where she's met with her party's Clare local election candidates; Ennis-based Hilary Tonge and Mountshannon's Fiona Levie. 1,691 admitted patients were left waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick in March which was down 5% on the same month last year. Deputy Cairns claims the lack of meaningful progress at the region's main hospital can be blamed on a "lack of political will" to properly implement the Government's overriding health policy.

An inspection is to be carried out of recent resurfacing works in Ennis which residents are reportedly "very disappointed" about. A Ralumac surface, which is a cheaper alternative to tarmacadam used on low traffic roads, was installed last summer in St Michael's Villas which is an area consisting of 76 houses that celebrated its 70th anniversary last year. Following reports of partial flooding as well as complaints about the appearance of the new infrastructure, Ennis Municipal District has confirmed its contractor will return to carry out a "further inspection of the works". Ennis Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard says residents aren't happy and deserve better.

A former National League and All-Ireland winner with Clare believes getting the match-ups right will be vital if Brian Lohan's side are to claim the silverware. Crusheen's Cian Dillon says every individual battle will be pivotal to the outcome of the match.

Clare will get the defence of their Munster and All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship titles underway tonight. Brian O'Connell's charges welcome Waterford to Cusack Park for a 6pm throw-in. When the sides clashed in the last round-robin series, The Banner overcame The Déise by 0-20 to 1-16 on away soil. Clare Coach Damien O'Halloran says there's huge belief in this year's squad.

The Captain of the Clare U-20 Hurlers says it will be the stuff of dreams to lead his county into battle tomorrow night. Clare get their Munster campaign underway on Friday evening with the visit of Waterford to Cusack Park. The Banner will be hoping to go one step further than last year's campaign which saw thim ship a two point defeat to Cork in the decider. Former Harty Cup winning Captain with St.Joseph's Tulla and Feakle clubman Ronan O'Connor is looking forward to the action. [CLIP] Throw in at Sixmilebridge is on Friday at 7 with commentary in association with Oliver Foudy Motors towing breakdown and mobile tyre service.

A star member of Kilkenny's four in-a-row winning squad believes the Cats are in a healthy position ahead of Saturday's National Hurling League showdown with Clare. Clare and Kilkenny will renew hostilities in the league's showpiece event for the first time in nineteen years on Saturday, with the cats winning decisively in the 2005 meeting. En-route to this year's final, Clare have raised two green flags, while Kilkenny have scored six goals in six outings. Four time All-Star with Kilkenny, Eddie Brennan believes the winning and losing of the tie will be decided in the defensive lines.

Clare Minor Boss Praises Perseverance Following Last Gasp Win by Clare FM

A Clare councillor is calling for heavy fines to be imposed on motorists that purposely do not present for their driving tests. It comes as new figures released by the Road Safety Authority show there were almost 100 driver test no-shows in Clare last year. Nationwide, over 6,400 motorists failed to show up for driving tests last year, with 94 such incidents recorded in Clare. Although this was the ranks below average when compared to no-show rates in other counties, it still means that people who have been waiting for driving tests miss out on a date they potentially could have used. At present in Clare, the average wait for a test across this county's centres is 10 weeks in both Shannon and Kilrush and nine weeks in Ennis. An East Clare representative believes some motorists responsible for no-shows are taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to retain their provisional licence. Kilmurry Fianna Fáil Councillor says heavy fines should be imposed to deter the practice. A North Clare Councillor

A Clare man running in the upcoming European Elections claims the state's planning laws are responsible for an Asylum Seeker accommodation crisis. In 2015, government introduced an exemption that meant any provider hoping to convert a building to house refugees or did not have to apply for change of use planning permission. There are now 771 International Protection Applicants residing in Clare direct provision centres across Ennis, Inch, Scariff, Tulla, Lisdoonvarna, Meelick and Miltown Malbay. Irish Freedom Party Chair, Architect and Corofin native Michael Leahy believes local input is prohibited under the current system.

An Ireland South MEP candidate says it's a "cop out" to say the Common Agricultural Policy scheme can't be streamlined. Labour's Niamh Hourigan is calling for "overwhelming EU bureaucracy" around the CAP scheme to be reduced and claims red tape is damaging farmers' willingness to embrace a Just Transition. The European Commission has recently revealed proposals to simplify the scheme by giving farmers "greater flexibility when it comes to complying with certain environmental conditionalities". Hourigan insists the level of regulation must be reduced to avoid alienating farmers.

On Wednesday’s Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Tommy Corbett from Carey Corbett Financial Solutions. This week, Tommy joined Alan to talk about financial planning in your 50s, 60s & beyond.

To find out more about the exhibition at Glór, Alan Morrissey was joined by Evelyn on Wednesday's Morning Focus. Visit https://glor.ie/events/evelyn-sorohan-presents-change-of-climate/

The Community Playground and Astroturf was briefly closed over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, due to what was referred to on a Facebook post as “obscene behaviour”. To find out more about what went on, Alan was joined by Joanne Dillon, Playground and Astroturf Committee Member and Kilrush Fianna Fáil Councillor Cillian Murphy. Picture (c) by Kamila OConnell from Getty Images via Canva

Squash is a sport that has a long tradition in Clare. In the height of its popularity, huge crowds were drawn to the Clare championships, with brilliant displays on show. Clarecastle native Fergie O'Loughlin joined Clare FM's Derrick Lynch to chat about the history of the sport in the county and plans to revive it with the younger generation.

It's claimed residents of a picturesque area of Ennis are having "serious difficulty" getting around due to substandard footpaths. It's been revealed that of the almost €76,000 allocated for various developments at Ballyalla Lake and its environs since 2014, just under €11,000, or roughly 7%, has been spent. Speaking at a meeting of Ennis local representatives yesterday, Fine Gael Councillor Johnny Flynn has called for a number of works ot be carried out in the area such as footpath repairs and the construction of a changing room for swimmers and those participating in water sports. Councillor Flynn says the funding must be used to provide much needed facilities before the busy summer season begins.

It's claimed Sinn Féin's alternative health services plan is key to solving legacy overcrowding problems in the MidWest. University Hospital Limerick remains by far the busiest facility in the country, with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation recording over 1,960 patients there in March, outside of weekends and bank holidays. The 'Caring for Communities' plan put forward by Sinn Féin tables 30 proposals including directly employing GPs in rural areas and doubling frontline staff recruitment targets. Cathaoirleach of the Shannon Municipal District, Sinn Féin Councillor Donna McGettigan insists her party can solve the GP shortage and relieve pressure on the acute hospital system.

It's claimed the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of a Shannon man at University Hospital Limerick must now be the catalyst for change in Midwest Healthcare. 65 Year-Old Martin Abbott passed away in an overcrowded emergency department in Dooradoyle in 2019 and an inquest into his death last week returned a verdict of medical misadventure. Mr. Abbott presented to University Hospital Limerick on the 14th of December 2019 with symptoms of fever, coughing and diarrhoea. He was then diagnosed with Legionnaire's disease; a serious form of pneumonia, and would spend the next three days on a trolley in an isolation cubicle. On his third night in hospital, Martin was found lying on the floor of his cubicle, after falling from his trolley and last week, an inquest into his death heard he may have been dead for over an hour before being discovered by staff. The UL Hospitals Group would later acknowledge deficits in the care provided to Martin Abbott and offer apologies to the Abbott family. A Sinn Féin S