On Tuesday’s Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Fergal O’Keeffe, Ennis native, creator of Travel Tales With Fergal podcast.

This week’s topic is travelling to the Spanish island of Ibiza.

Travel Tales- Ibiza

Clare FM Commentary Of Closing Stages Of Clare V Roscommon All Ireland SFC Qualifier

An Ennis-based credit union claims more people in Clare are turning to them as banking providers leave the Irish market.

Louis Fay of St Francis' Credit Union says significant numbers of Clare customers are moving to the facilities.

Francis St Credit Union Says More Clare People Turning To Them As Banks Close

Ennistymon Captain Darragh Conneely says he is hopeful his club's underage success can be developed at Senior level.

The North Clare men claimed just their second ever U-21 A Football Championship title following a derby victory over neighbours Corofin in yesterday's final at Cusack Park.



The Ennistymon Seniors came agonisingly close to adding a first ever Jack Daly to their portfolio after suffering a narrow defeat to Eire Óg in the County final back in October.

However Ennistymon U-21 Captain Darragh Conneely says the experience gained by players during the Senior campaign stood to his team mates when the going got tough.

Conneely Hopeful Ennistymon Can Build On Underage Success

A North Clare guidance counsellor believes grade inflation caused due to issues relating to the pandemic will 'settle' in the next academic year.

It comes ahead of the deadline for applications to the CAO for entry to all first-year courses, which is tomorrow at 5pm.

Grades were adjusted upwards in 2022 to meet 2021's record-high results, with some subjects seeing the number of students receiving the maximum H1 grade trebling in the last number of years.

Áine Meehan, who's a Guidance Counsellor at Ennistymon Vocational School, believes the class of 2024 may see things levelling out, but is warning this year's cohort will still face high points numbers for certain courses.

North Clare Guidance Counsellor Believes Grade Inflation Will 'Settle' Next Year

On Tuesday's Morning Focus, Alan was joined by John Burke who is the Owner and CEO of the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point. John discussed his delight at the Armada Hotel achieving B Corp Certification, becoming the first hotel in the country to hold the global accolade for it's commitment to positively impacting people and the planet. He outlined the level of work required in achieving B Corp Certification while highlighting the goals of the Armada hotel. John hopes the efforts made within the Armada hotel and the local community will inspire others to do the same across Ireland.

Clare Hotel First In The Country To Achieve B Corp Certification

Clare's Aontú representative is raising concern over a lack of Gardaí available to police drug activity in the county. New Figures released in response to a parliamentary question from the party show just 18 arrests were made in relation to drug offences here since January, the second lowest total nationwide. Clare currently ranks 24th out of the country's 28 Garda divisions in terms of staffing, while this county is yet to receive any new recruits from Templemore so far this year. Aontú's MidWest PRO, Eric Nelligan believes the state are not doing enough to fight crime in rural communities.

Claims Clare Garda Resources Not Prioritised In The Fight Against Drug Crime

MidWest Simon claim no tennat is safe from the prospect of homelessness amid the current conditions of the rental market. 

It comes as new figures from the Residential Tenancies board have revealed that 5,735 notices to quit have been issued across the country since the lifting of the moratorium on no fault evictions in April. 

Although 48% of notices issued in Clare during this timeframe were found to be invalid, average monthly rental costs here have increased by 4% over the period, while supply has stagnated. 

MidWest Simon CEO Jackie Bonfield says emergency accommodation providers will struggle to cater for any additional households.

MidWest Simon Claims No Sector Of Clare Society Safe From Threat Of  Homelessness

It’s time for the latest of our In Profile interviews.

In Profile is where we have entertaining, enlightening and fascinating conversations with the great and good from around County Clare: from people who were either born or live here, to those with a connection to the Banner County.

Our latest guest for In Profile is John J.Kelly.

John is Irish-American, with his origins very much connected to the old country.

John’s father was from Kilclaran, near Feakle and both of his parents emigrated from Ireland to the United States.

John spoke about about his parents’ journey from Feakle to the United States during the 1920s.

He also highlighted how he became the leader of the manufacturing team that was responsible for making the engine that lifted Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin off the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.

In Profile - John J. Kelly

The Clare Branch of the Irish Red Cross are doing a lot of work including promoting new members to join their ambulance service and holding a Tour of Clare fundraiser. 

The Irish Red Cross also have plans to develop and improve their training centre in Clare. 

They will be holding an annual table quiz on Saturday, the 9th of November 2024.

To talk more about this, Peter O'Connell was joined by members of the Clare Branch of the Irish Red Cross, James Lafferty and Chloe Walsh.

Photo (c): Clare FM

North Clare Guidance Counsellor Believes Grade Inflation Will 'Settle' Next Year

Clare FM

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