Clare Fm - Podcasts

The Rekindle Festival of Lost Skills will make its return later this week. The festival, which will take place at the Common Knowledge Center in Kilfenora and in Ennistymon on Friday and Saturday (15th & 16th August), will involve two days of living heritage, community action and cultural celebration as part of National Heritage Week. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Aoife Hammond, Organiser, Mo McRae, Hide tanner and Aoife Kelly, traditional Irish musician and concertina teacher, as well as an illustrator, website and graphic designer.

As you know from our competition this week, National Heritage Week 2025 takes place from the 16th to the 24th of August. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Exploring Our Foundations’. Clare County Council has announced a countywide programme of events celebrating the county’s rich cultural, built and natural heritage. To find out more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Congella McGuire, Heritage Officer, Clare County Council.

From August 16th to 22nd, Ennis, Kilkee, and Lisdoonvarna will host the third annual Discover Ukraine Festival, a vibrant and heartfelt celebration of Ukrainian heritage, coinciding with Ukraine’s Independence Day. With over a thousand attendees expected, this free week-long festival offers a rich programme of traditional crafts, workshops, food, music, and film all made possible thanks to the Clare Local Development Company and an incredible team of Ukrainian volunteers. For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Alina Senkova, SICAP Development Officer, CLDC and Svitlana Morozova, Ukrainian volunteer.

The community of Cloonanaha has joined forces to preserve their unique treasured landmark, Cloonanaha Church. They have set up a fundraiser to restore the church to its former glory. For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Mary Crawford, who is involved with the fundraising efforts. You can support and donate here: https://www.idonate.ie/cause/CloonanahaChurchRestoration

Parking fines should be issued in the same way as penalty points, according to the Irish Parking Association. The suggestion comes as Castlebar in County Mayo looks set to completely ban clamps in the town. The local municipal council has fully backed the proposal to outlaw the clamping of vehicles. The IPA agrees clamping is often ineffective and says fines are a better deterrent to illegal parking. Director Keith Gavin, says current laws don't allow parking operators to pursue unpaid fines, but there is a simple way to change that. To discuss this further Alan Morrissey was joined by Cllr Antoinette Baker Bashua, Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor and Cllr Joe Garrihy, Lisdoonvarna Fine Gael Councillor. PHOTO CREDIT: djumandji from Getty Images

The outgoing CEO of the Shannon Airport Group says she'll continue to push for a rail link to the facility while head of Iarnród Éireann. Lissycasey native Mary Considine has announced her departure from the Shannon Airport Group after over 30 years working at the Clare base. She'll now succeed Cooraclare man Jim Meade as the second Clare person in-a-row to head up Irish Rail. She insists the desire for rail connectivity at Shannon remains "close to her heart".

Clare received half the IDA site visits as neighbouring Limerick over the past decade. New figures show the Industrial Development Authority visited Clare on 212 occasions since 2015, with 424 site visits going to Limerick. Although Clare did receive the 6th greatest total of IDA site visits nationwide during this period, it was still just 10% of the activity seen in Dublin. Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes says that it's vital efforts are made to grow local employment.

Up to 1,000 people are now using Ennis Library on its busiest days. Since the new DeValera Library officially opened on Causeway Link last November, membership and book issues have both doubled. Clare's County Librarian has pointed to a surge in presentations from third level students and is crediting the enhanced digital resources, and study spaces available. Helen Walsh says their facility is regularly operating at max capacity.

Shannon Airport has today launched its exhibition of the AIB Press Photographer of the Year Awards for 2025. Running until August 26th, visitors will have the opportunity to view all award winning and shortlisted works across a wide array of categories. Central to this is the collection of shots from James Crombie, who received the accolade of Press Photographer of the Year for his portfolio, which includes capturing the moment The Banner claimed All Ireland hurling success. Press Photographers Ireland President, David Branigan, says the exhibition is particularly pertinent given the growing prevalence of generative AI.

It's expected an operator will be appointed by the end of this year for the long awaited Ennis Town Bus Service. The service, which has been in the works for over 4 years, will run for 18 hours a day when completed with routes traversing Clarecastle to Ballymaley and the Lahinch Road to Tulla Road with a central terminus at Friar's Walk. When completed, there will be an additional 42 bus stops installed in the town. Ennis Municipal District Senior Engineer Seán Lenihan says the service will be up and running in the near future.

A non-profit social enterprise in North Clare intends to use newly-acquired funding to assist communities nationwide in meeting climate action goals. Common Knowledge in Kilfenora is among five projects in Clare to benefit from a €350,000 funding put through SSE Airtricity's Generation Green Community Fund. Common Knowledge says it endeavours to provide "capacity-building support for flagship centre for sustainability skill sharing in Ireland, accelerating the organisation’s social enterprise and other communities nationwide on the path to net zero". Its Co-founder and Co-CEO, Fionn Kidney, is excited to be expanding the operation beyond county bounds.

Clare is in line to receive both tropical temperatures and thunderstorms this week. Met Eireann is forecasting temperatures as high as 28 degrees for the county today, which is expected to be picked up near Shannon's weather station from 4pm to 6pm this afternoon. Although Clare's temperatures will stay between the high teens and mid twenties for the rest of the week, it's expected the pressure will lead to heavy downpours tomorrow and potentially low level weather warnings. Met Eireann Meteorologist Siobhán Ryan has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan that some areas could experience a heatwave.

Tuesday's Morning Focus broadcasted live from the De Valera Public Library in Ennis as part of Clare FM's Summer Tour. Alan Morrissey spoke with local representatives, community leaders, and residents about ongoing projects, upcoming events, and issues affecting the town. To discuss business, tourism, and local development, Alan was joined by Senior Engineer & Ennis MD Co-ordinator, Seán Lenihan, Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Mary Howard, Ennis Chamber President, Diarmuid McMahon, Paddy Tiernan A/Senior Executive Engineer, Ennis MD and Pat Slattery, Acting Town Foreman. Inagh's resident, Colleen Shanks highlighted the call for a dedicated dog park and Alan Shoosmith discussed the Lesser Horseshoe Bat project for Heritage Week. We also heard from County Librarian, Helen Walsh, Curator at Clare Museum, John Rattigan the Clare Museum, Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt. Catríona Holohan and Dr Jane O’Brien from Ennis walking tours. Other segments featured a live harp performance from Geraldine Carrigg, updates from Ennis

A Clare TD believes paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians should be allowed to train on the job to address staffing pressures in the National Ambulance Service. In 2021, the HSE told an Oireachtas Committee it was operating with 90 fewer emergency ambulance crews than required. The NAS meanwhile has confirmed an additional 2,579 staff will be needed by 2028. Bodyke Fine Gael Deputy Joe Cooney says modern and flexible solutions are needed.

Marine life enthusiasts are being encouraged to head to Clare's coast to see a unique spectacle this week. There have been a number of sightings of basking sharks breaching, or breaking the surface of the water, off Loop Head in recent days. Basking sharks, which are the second-largest sharks or fish in the world, populate much of Ireland's waters during the spring and summer but usually only breach during particularly warm spells. Chief Executive Officer of the Kilrush-based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Simon Berrow says it's a great opportunity to see these remarkable creatures.

The Clare Immigrant Support Network says any plans to charge working asylum seekers for their accommodation must be assessed on a case by case basis. The Government is reportedly considering plans to charge asylum seekers with jobs up to €238 per week to live in IPAS centres to combat rising costs. There are currently 992 International Protection Applicants living across 12 centres in Clare. Clare Immigrant Support Network Manager Simon O'Treasaigh has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan that many migrants are in casual employment and insists a one-size fits all approach cannot be applied.

To review the sporting fixtures, Alan Morrisey was joined on Monday’s Morning Focus by Clare FM's Derrick Lynch and Derek Dormer.

On Monday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Tom Stewart from Keane’s Garden Centre in Kilcolgan. This week, Tom gave listeners advice on Autumn Planting Seed Potatoes. If you have a question for Tom, contact the show on 0818 400 964 or send a text or WhatsApp to 086 1800 964.

The Clare IFA Summer Social Event is set to take place on Thursday, 14th August at Sixmilebridge Mart. The evening will offer free health checks, presentations and demonstrations. To find out more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Caroline Lynch, Clare IFA Farm Family Chair.

August Craft Month is back! Ireland’s biggest celebration of craft. This year, Clare is playing a vibrant part in the festivities. Throughout August, audiences can enjoy workshops, exhibitions, open studios and fairs, with over 900 makers from across the island taking part. To tell us more about what’s planned and how people can get involved, Alan Morrissey was joined by Jane Seymour, Ceramic artist based in east Clare.