Clare Fm - Podcasts

It is time for another wonderful tale from the one and only Eddie Lenihan, which means it is time for Seanchaí Corner. Every fortnight on Morning Focus, Seanchaí Corner sees Eddie, the renowned author, storyteller, lecturer, and broadcaster regaling us with a memorable story from his extensive collection of old Irish tales and fables. This week, Eddie told us the strange tale of Daniel O’Connell and the Poor Man’s Ears.

Concern has emerged that a failure to prioritise rental housing stock in the new programme for Government will compound the rental market crisis in Clare and elsewhere. The latest quarterly report from Daft.ie, published today, has shown the cost of renting a home on the open market in this county has risen by 9% in the past twelve months to 1,400 euro, which is above the national average. Supply remains a major concern across the region, with just 350 homes available to rent in Munster at the end of September, representing a reduction of 13% in the last year. Author of the report, Economist Ronan Lyons has been telling Clare FM's Fiona Cahill that despite all the promises on housing by political parties and none in the run up to the election, there's a gap in the conversation about rental stock, which he believes could have dire consequences.

The West Clare Municipal District has been awarded €441,000 worth of funding which can be used as 'the final piece of the jigsaw' for projects in the area. The funding comes under the General Municipal Allocation and represents the same amount the West Clare MD received for the GMA in 2024. This means that each of the nine councillors will receive roughly €49,000 each to use towards projects of their own discretion. The same amount will apply to the seven councillors in Ennis, with a collective €343,000 also approved for the district this week. Ennistymon Fianna Fail Councillor, Shane Talty, says that with some large scale projects working out to cost more than initially expected, the GMA helps to seem them over the line.

It's hoped an abandoned 16-acre site in the heart of Ennis can be a silver bullet for the county town's housing woes, after being acquired by new owners. Clare County Council has confirmed that the grounds and property of the former Our Lady's Hospital on the Gort Road have changed hands once again. The former Psychiatric Hospital first opened as an Asylum in 1868 and closed in 2002 and has remained derelict since, however a third party is now understood to be in discussions with the local authority regarding a potential development. Clarecastle Sinn Féin Councillor Tommy Guilfoyle believes it's an ideal location for affordable homes.

The first full week of campaigning for General Election 2024 continues. The election will take place on the 29th of November, when the people of Clare will cast their ballots for which four TDs will represent them in the 34th Dáil. Let’s get a flavour of what has been happening on the campaign trail. The Fianna Fáil leader admits house prices are unlikely to moderate until 2027 or ‘28. Fine Gael will promise this morning to make a double child benefit payment to parents every August if re-elected. Elsewhere, the Green Party is pledging to lower the voting age to 16.The party launched its manifesto this morning, which seeks to spend 7 billion euro of the Apple tax money on public transport Meanwhile, Aontú has launched its immigration policy ahead of the general election. To discuss all of this and more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Aontú Candidate, June Dillon, Green Party Candidate, Roisín Garvey and Fine Gael Candidate, Joe Cooney. Photo (c): pixelshot via Canva

Can We Speak Whale? is the title of an upcoming talk from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. It is an in-person talk aimed at young people as part of Science Week. Friday’s event at Cultúrlann Sweeney Theatre in Kilkee is being held as part of Science Week. For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Education and Outreach Officer with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group in Kilrush, Claire Kelly. Photo (c): artvizual from pixabay via Canva

On Wednesday’s Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Tommy Corbett from Carey Corbett Financial Solutions. This week, Tommy provided Alan and our Morning Focus listeners with advice on low risk investing.

Those who died in both World Wars from County Clare will be remembered this coming weekend. The Services of Remembrance for those who lost their lives in World War I, World War II and all international conflicts will take place at the Clare World War memorials at Causeway Link here in Ennis. To get more details on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Chairperson of Clare Peace Park Initiative, Dr. Keir McNamara and Head Chaplin of the Irish Defence Forces, Fr. Paschal Hanrahan. Photo (c) Keir McNamara

Double social welfare payments are welcome but they're getting wiped out almost immediately by existing bills. Saint Vincent de Paul officials say they want to see a more sustained increase to weekly social welfare payments from the next Government. Thousands received cost of living bonuses last week while the Christmas Bonus Double Payment will be paid on the week starting December 2nd. Ahead of it's annual Christmas Appeal, SVP National President Rose McGowan says these kinds of once off measures don't go too far To get a Clare Perspective, Alan Morrissey was joined by Clare SVP President, Denis Carty. Photo (c): Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Policymakers are being urged to prioritise the survival of Clare's existing towns following the collapse of an ambitious plan for growth in the South-East of the County. It comes as the University of Limerick has withdrawn an application to designate lands to the North of its campus as an economic Strategic Development Zone. one community group is welcoming the news and believes a shift in focus is required to tackle housing shortages, business closures, vacancy and dereliction in Clare's existing towns. Síle Ginnane from Better Ennis believes the SDZ would have led to further urban sprawl and that policy makers need to icentivise measures to get people living above shops and starting small businesses in the likes of Ennis, Kilkee, Kilrush and Ennistymon before they become ghost towns. She says balanced regional development must be prioritised.

Futureproof Clare claims that the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP, has become a farce, citing that global emissions only having increased since its inception in 1995. The annual climate summit got underway this week with politicians, business leaders and campaigners from around the world gathering in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. The perceived hypocrisy of Baku's hosting of the conference has also been raised, with oil and gas exports accounting for almost half of Azerbaijan's state budget, with similar concerns raised when the UAE played host in 2023. Scariff-based Futureproof Clare spokesperson, Sinead Sheehan, believes that climate action groups have lost faith in COP's ability to tackle the climate crisis.

There are fresh calls to end United States' usage of Shannon Airport as a 'war port' following the cessation of the 33rd Dáil without passing the Occupied Territories Bill. Concerns have been raised over the transport of United States military personnel and supplies, with claims of the complicity of the Irish Government in genocide in Gaza as a result. The Department of Foreign Affairs has said, however, that all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly or land in the State are required, without exception, to obtain diplomatic clearance, with one of the stipulations being that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives. Kilmaley People Before Profit general election candidate, Caitríóna Ní Chatháin is hopeful that Shannon Airport staff can take a stand to force the new government stop the facilitation of United States 'imperialism'.

A Clare MEP has raised concerns that the political procedures in place in the European Parliament could lead to the Mercosur trade deal coming to fruition. Scarriff Independent, Michael McNamara, has this week penned a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting an end to the negotiations of the trade deal. Previous trade deals have required ratification from national parliaments prior to being put before the European Commission, however moves have been made in recent years for deals to only need EU parliament approval. McNamara says he is fearful that if the deal only requires ratification at an EU level, the chances of it coming into place are 'substantially higher'.

Ambitious plans for the creation of a new town and over 3,500 jobs in South-East Clare have been dealt a major blow. It comes as the University of Limerick as lead agency has officially withdrawn its joint application with Clare County Council for an economic Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) on lands to the North of its campus. It was envisaged the site would become a European Centre of Excellence in Dual Education and would contribute over €1.7bn to the economy annually. In a written correspondence to the local authority, Acting University of Limerick President Professor Shane Kilcommons stated the reasons for withdrawal included UL's current governance situation, a lack of progress on the Northern Distributor Road and imminent changes to planning legislation. Clonlara Independent Councillor Michael Begley is confident a revised version of the project is still possible despite the setback.

We are into the second day of the first full week of campaigning for General Election 2024. The election will take place on the 29th of November, when the people of Clare will cast their ballots for which four TDs will represent them in the 34th Dáil. Monday saw political parties publishing a range of policy papers, while independent candidates outlined their policies to the electorate. The Fine Gael leader believes it's 'unusual' for some parties to say they want to take over certain government departments. Fianna Fáil is committing to creating a new Department of Domestic Affairs if re-elected. Sinn Féin has pledged to start tackling Universal Social Charge rates in the party’s first 100 days in government if it wins the election. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Fianna Fáil candidate Cathal Crowe, Fine Gael Candidate Leonora Carey, and Sinn Féin Candidate Donna McGettigan. Picture (c) pixelshot via Canva

A Clare man has managed to pull off an impressive feat, completing both a full and a half marathon in the Arctic. Not only that, but Corofin’s Ciarán O’Connell did both in Greenland’s Arctic Circle in just 36 hours! To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Ciaran O’Connell. Photo (c): Ciarán O’Connell via Facebook

Killaloe Male Voice Choir are no doubt celebrating, following their recent success on the European stage. They claimed bronze medals at the recent Praga Cantat International Music Festival in Prague. To talk about this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Alan Williamson and Jerome Chambers who are members of the Killaloe Male Voice Choir. Photo (c): Clare FM

To discuss the latest in the entertainment world, Alan Morrissey was joined by Clare FM’s Colum McGrath, on Tuesday's Morning Focus. This week, Colum discussed the I'm A Celebrity 2024 lineup and the MTV EMA's.

In this week’s History in Focus, Alan Morrissey is joined by local historian and author, Colm Liddy to focus on the scenes of absolute desolation after Cromwell. If you have any stories you would like to share with Colm about your town, you can contact him at colmliddy@eircom.net or Clare FM at focus@clare.fm.

A Clare woman is among 23 individuals from across the country who have been recognised for their acts of bravery. They were all recipients of National Bravery Awards for risking their own lives to aid others in peril. Mary Noonan received her award for her selfless actions on a July afternoon five years ago. Mary saved the life of a young boy who was drowning. To discuss this further, Mary Noonan joined Alan Morrissey in-studio. Photo (c): Clare FM