Tributes are being paid to a humanitarian from County Clare who passed away last weekend.

Mike McDonagh, late of Miltown Malbay and formerly of Ennis, died last Saturday.

Mike was a former United Nations official who also worked for Concern for more than 20 years, including serving as country director in Laos, Somalia, Angola, Rwanda, North Korea, and Zimbabwe, amongst numerous locations.

Mike is survived by his wife Sarah McNiece, daughters Saoirse and Molly, and extended family and friends.

His funeral mass will take place in St Joseph’s Church, Miltown Malbay on Friday (from 5pm – 7pm).

To Discuss this further, Peter O'Connell was joined by David McMahon of the United Nations and Paul Heslop, who knew Mike in Angola (1994), they shared a house together in Khartoum (2004-2006) and also from Libya and Oman CONF

A young man is putting one foot in front of the other, all the way from the South-East of England to the West Coast of Ireland to raise awareness and funds for mental health.

Frazer Last, from East Sussex in England, is walking over 800 kilometres across two countries, with the final stretch of the epic journey bringing him to Labasheeda.

To find out more, Frazer Last joined Peter O'Connnell in studio.

There’s only one day left to make submissions on the Ennis Transport Plan.

Over 50 residents living near the Old Mill Road in Ennis attended a protest yesterday over council plans to create a one-way traffic system with a cycle lane on a prominent thoroughfare in the town.

Under the Draft Ennis Local Transport Plan , its proposed to make the southbound lane of Mill Road stretching from Carmody Street to Harvey Quay's a one way street, to facilitate a footpath, which can't be built at present as a protected structure which cannot be knocked protrudes onto the roadway.

It's proposed in this case that Northbound traffic will be re-routed through a residential and commercial area of Cloughleigh.

Clare FM’s Darragh Dolan was at the protest yesterday and he first spoke to Cloughleigh resident Mary McNamara.

A traffic survey by local Garage Owner Pat Foudy has indicated that the new plans will bring up to 5,990 additional vehicles a day up Old Mill Road, and that just 0.2% of traffic analysed on the proposed one-way street at Mill Road was either a pedestrian or a cyclist.

The community are now raising concerns over potential congestion as well as road safety issues, particularly in relation to HGVs, while the owner of the protected building at the centre of the controversey claims he was not consulted by the local authority about any potential solution.

For more on this, Peter O'Connell was joined by Bridget Ginnity of the Ennis Green Party.

The Child and Family Agency has confirmed it will be doubling its number of social workers in Clare. There are currently just 3 TUSLA staff working on the Clare children's care team, who are responsible for 43 children between them. A further 77 children in this county are on a waiting list for social care and TUSLA has now indicated its intention to bring its social worker staffing complement up to 6 in the coming weeks. Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney says it's desperately needed.

The CEO of the Shannon Airport Group says she's viewing a prestigious award bestowed on her as a reflection of the "collective effort" of her team. Mary Considine is this year's recipient of the Clare Association Dublin's Clare person of the Year Award. The Lissycasey native came to Shannon Airport in 2007 as Head of Finance and Corporate Affairs and served in a variety of roles before being named Group CEO in 2019. She says the success of the facility over the years is thanks to the hard work of all of its staff.

Clare Coach Kevin McNamara Ahead Of All Ireland Minor Hurling Final

Clare FM's Derek Dormer Previewing Clare v Monaghan LGFA All Ireland IFC Quarter Final

Over 50 residents near the Old Mill Road in Ennis have staged a public demonstration today against plans to create an effective northbound ring road, running through a residential area.

Local Resident Mary McNamara believes it will add more congestion to an already challenged area and present a serious safety concern for children.

Clare is believed to have a shortage of over 1,000 hotel beds. Incentivising the construction of new tourism accommodation is just one of the aims of a new scheme proposed by Clare County Council's Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee. Public consultation is to take place on a waiver scheme that would give a reduction in commercial rates to certain businesses in Clare over a three-year period. Under the proposal, new-build hotels, hostels, recreational vehicle campervan sites, nursing homes and creches would all be eligible for a reduction. Those redeveloping vacant units for hospitality or nursing home purposes would also be able to avail of the scheme, as would businesses located on ground floors where the upper floors are converted to residential accommodation from 2026 onwards. Figures from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment show there are currently 9,574 hotel bed spaces in Clare which is 337 fewer than in 2023. Clare County Council Economic Development SPC member, Quilty Fianna Fáil Councillor Michael Shannon, insists there needs to be incentives for prospective providers to enter the market. A 14-day public consultation period on the proposed scheme will commence in the near future. If adopted, any costs associated with the scheme are to be paid in Clare County Council's budget process either through an increase in commercial rates or a reduction in discretionary expenditure. It's also stated that the scheme "must be of economic benefit to the county of Clare" Senior Executive Officer in Clare County Council's Economic Development Directorate Leonore O'Neill believes it's a worthwhile endeavour.

One Local Business Owner even conducted his own traffic survey to demonstrate the volume of traffic that would be forced to traverse the Old Mill Road, if controversial plans for a one-way system come to pass in the town.

Garage Owner on Pound Lane Pat Foudy claims the plans would bring at least an additional 5,990 vehicles up their road instead, something which he believes would be exacerbated when schools return.