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Beyond Belief - Sunday 6th October 2024 by Clare FM

It's hoped legacy nightmare flooding issues will soon come to an end for businesses and residents of a West Clare community. It comes as Clare County Council has submitted a planning application to An Bórd Pleanála for a flood relief scheme for Kilkee. The proposed works will involve road reconstruction, the provision of flood defence walls and new embankments and will aim to protect 134 local properties from becoming engulfed by overflowing water from Victoria Stream. Former Kilkee Councillor Cillian Murphy says its a significant milestone for the town.

Electric vehicle sales in Clare have been below 2023 levels every month so far this year. In the first nine months of the 2024, just 227 vehicles with an electric engine have been sold here, indicating a drop of 45% from the 410 sold in the same period last year, according to statistics from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. In September, just 13 of the 94 vehicles sold in Clare were electric. General Manager of Sheils Ennis Eddie Rynne says a reduction in grants has caused demand for electric vehicles to drop across the board.

Stephen Fletcher leads our Sunday Prayer for the 6th October 2024, the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time and the 19th Sunday after Trinity.

It's hoped the Ennis Town Bus Service will be up-and-running by the end of next year. The long-awaited public transport link in the county town is just one of two town bus services named in Budget 2025 as projects to be supported as part of the Department of Transport's €3.9 billion allocation. The service will feature two routes, one of which will traverse Ennis from the Lahinch Road to the Tulla Road, while the second will go from Clarecastle to Ballymaley via Friar's Walk. Inagh Green Senator Róisín Garvey, who worked extensively on getting the project over the line, has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons its inclusion in the Budget is a massive victory for Ennis.

Clare County Council is being urged to exhaust all avenues to expedite public realm enhancement works in Ennis. It comes amid severe frustration for traders in the town, who claim the phased delivery of the project has been a business disaster. Having commenced in April of 2023, the €11.5M Ennis Public Realm Project has set a long-term goal of increasing footfall and spending in the town through streetscape and public infrastructure enhancements. The works have been scheduled over 8 phases in a bid to minimise disruption to local businesses, however the persistent road closures have been a point of extreme discontent for local traders, who say footfall has dropped dramatically. Vanessa Spencer from Munster Technology Centre in Ennis says her hours have reduced due to the lull in activity and fears the town has lost many customers who cannot be recovered. Local traders have also bemoaned the perceived lack of progress with the works. The High Street phase of the project was scheduled for completion in Ju

Residents of a West Clare village plagued by persistent water issues are said to be "pulling their hair out" once again this week due to widespread discolouration. A large watermain burst has resulted in discoloured water in many homes and businesses in Doonbeg as well as parts of Kilrush, Cahermurphy and Moneypoint. Uisce Éireann says repair works have taken place and discolouration "is not unusual" following such works, while it's advised customers not to drink discoloured water and to run the tap for several minutes in order to restore water to a clear colour. Doonbeg resident Jennie Drysdale, whose husband suffers from multiple sclerosis meaning they need constant access to clean water, says people in the area are sick and tired of seemingly never-ending problems with their water supply.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each year, around 3,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland, and about a third of these people will have cancer detected through screening. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in Ireland. For an extended conversation about breast cancer, Alan Morrissey was joined by Tulla-based oncology nurse, Anne Murphy, Celine O'Donovan who is a breast cancer survivor and Kate Conway from Bravelle Post-Mastectomy Bras and Swimwear. Picture (c) by Arthon Meekodong via Canva

The National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education will hold its annual conference later this month. The theme of the conference, which will be held in Athlone, is Belonging. For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by the Chairperson of The Conference Committee and Vice Chair of NABMSE, Mary Crawford and Professor of Disability and Children’s rights at QUB, Prof. Bronagh Byrne. Photo (c) midlandsprint (c) NABMSE

Dr. Marilyn Glenville is one of the UK’s leading Nutritionist specialising in women’s health. Dr. Glenville will be delivering a talk in association with The Health Connection on natural solutions for menopause, perimenopuase & prevention of osteoporosis. The talk will take place in the Old Ground Hotel on Thursday, the 17th of October from 6:30pm to 9pm. To order tickets, please contact The Health Connection on 065 6866597. To learn more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Dr Marilyn Glenville, on Friday's Morning Focus. Photo (c) @marilynglenville and @naturalmedicinecompany

Today is World Animal Day, an international day of action for animal rights and welfare. It is celebrated annually on the 4th of October, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Barry Wrafter is an Ennis-based artist who has teamed up with PETA to highlight opposition to lab testing on animals. To find out more, Alan Morrissey was joined in-studio by Barry Wrafter. Photo (c): Clare FM

There has been a problem with discoloured water in the West Clare village of Doonbeg. To find out more about the situation, Alan Morrissey was joined by Fianna Fáil Councillor, Rita McInerney, resident of Doonbeg, Jennie Drysdale and Angela Fitzpatrick of Doonbeg Community Development. Photo (c) by towfiqu ahamed barbhuiya via Canva

A Clare senator is calling for an inquiry into persisting "cultural issues" at the region's main hospital. The call comes after the publication of former Chief Justice Frank Clarke's report into the death of Shannon teenager of Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick which found health service failure to be the cause of her death. Following the report's publication, six members of staff at the Dooradoyle facility are facing disciplinary action. Speaking in the Seanad however, Tulla Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley says he believes the problems at the facility go beyond six individuals.

The imminent overhaul of Moneypoint Power Station is expected to bring an employment boom to West Clare. It comes as ESB has been granted planning permission to convert the Kilrush plant from a coal burning to an oil burning facility, which will enable Moneypoint to serve as an emergency electricity supplier to the national grid from 2025 to 2029. The process is mooted to create between 90 and 100 jobs and will pave the way for Moneypoint's future as an offshore wind energy hub after 2030. Kilrush Independent Councillor Ian Lynch says it's a vital step for the region.

It's claimed Kilrush is at a standstill due to extensive broadband outages across the town. It's understood a service issue with the Eir network will be rectified by 7pm this evening, but until then over 4,400 people in the catchment area are without coverage. The loss of an internet and landline connection has led to reports of major disruption , with all banks and some businesses forced to close as they cannot access IT systems. Owner of Cocolemon Hair Salon on Frances Street Dawn Bennett has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan a back up system must be put in place to prevent future incidents as the loss to the town today has been detrimental.

A Human Rights Professor at the University of Galway claims Israel has become emboldened to the point where it's disregarding human casualties. It comes as fears of a major regional war breaking out have heightened after Israel promised retaliation to an Iranian missile attack, which was launched in response to the IDF's assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. The European Commission has since announced an extra €30m in humanitarian aid for Lebanon amid the IDF's new campaign of air strikes, which have so far claimed over 800 civilian lives. Professor Ray Murphy is warning the situation could escalate to a global conflict without intervention.

Businesses in Clare are expressing fears that they won't be able to absorb the additional cost brought about by the latest increase in the minimum wage. As the dust continues to settle on Budget 2025, those who didn't get what they'd hoped for in the way of supports are assessing the viability of their respective sectors going forward. While many are grateful for measures introduced in the Government's €8.3 billion package this week, not everyone is rejoicing. The announcement that the national minimum wage will increase by 80c to 13.50 per hour may be welcome news to workers but isn't necessarily music to the ears of business owners. Coupled with no reduction to the Hospitality VAT Rate which remains at 13.5% and uncertainty around eligibility for the Energy Subsidy Scheme, many feel there's not much there to ease the spiralling cost of doing business. Owner of Willow in Ennis and CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland Jean McCabe says if the Government wants to move towards the introduction of the Real Livin

Kieran Fanning is the author of Haunted Ireland: An Atlas of Ghost Stories from Every County. Kieran visits every county in Ireland in the book through 32 spooky stories. To find out more about the book and which Clare story has made the cut, Alan Morrissey was joined by Kieran Fanning. Photo (c): https://www.dubraybooks.ie/

On Thursday’s Morning Focus Alan Morrissey was joined by Paul Knapp, The Firefighting Chef, from Killaloe. This week Paul shared a delicious recipe for Vegan Turkish Lahmacun. Sometimes called 'Turkish pizza', this crispy flatbread topped with spiced vegan mincemeat is a popular street food across the Middle East and full of Eastern promises Quick and Simple 2 ingredient Flatbread (or you can use a tortilla/wrap for the more traditional thin and crispy lahmacun Ingredients 180g self-raising flour 120g plant-based yoghurt (I use alpro Greek) Method Mix your flour and yoghurt together until combined, then pop out on to a lightly floured work surface and kneed smooth , a few minutes should do. Now we can roll into a large sausage shape and divide into 8 balls . next we will roll each one out adding flour to prevent sticking , we want them approximately 5mm thick. Vegan Walnut and Lentil Mince Ingredients 160 g canned lentils 80 g walnuts 2 tomatoes, cut into pieces 1 tbsp tomato paste/sun dried tomato p

There are concerns about what is being described as “traffic chaos” at Corkscrew Hill in Ballyvaughan. Rowan McDonagh has been particularly vocal in Lisdoonvarna Community Group about this problem. Alan Morrissey was joined on Morning Focus by Rowan to find out the extent of what has been going on. Photo (c): https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161701061954641&set=g.994738873904617