A jewel in the crown of Ennis's retail scene will pull down the shutter for the final time this afternoon.

While many businesses are closing their doors until after Christmas today, O'Connors Newsagents in the Market is doing so for the final time at 4pm.

The shop was opened on August 6th 1981 by Joan O'Connor whose husband Tom had previously bought the fruit and vegetable shop next door.

Their daughter Sheila, who's been at the helm in recent years, cites the changing retail landscape as the reason for the closure, and says it's a bittersweet day.

People in Clare are being urged to make informed decisions around what gets poured down the sink in the process of cooking Christmas dinner.

Ahead of the big day, Clean Coasts and Uisce Eireann are appealing to people not to pour fats, oils, and greases from cooking down the sink as they can cause blockages and buildups called fatbergs.

The 'Think Before You Pour' campaign is instead urging all prospective chefs to let all cooking oils too cool before binning and to scrape all greases off pans before washing them.

Lahinch native and Clean Coasts', Think Before You Pour Campaign Officer, Patrick Cross, says although the amount of oil poured down drains has reduced, its still a major issue around Christmas.

People planning on taking to Clare's waters this Christmas are being warned not to do so alone.

The popularity of cold water swims has risen in recent years, with groups formed for daily dips in many of Clare's coastal communities.

That trend will continue over the Christmas period, with many people likely to head for dips outside of the planned Christmas Day swims and charity events.

Clare's Water Safety Officer Claire McGrath says people should always make sure they have someone with them when entering the water.

The special Christmas Eve edition of Morning Focus began with Sheila O'Connor, of O’Connors Newsagents. She joined Alan Morrissey to discuss the closure of their well-known business in Ennis.

Shannon Athletics Club is going the extra mile this Christmas. On St. Stephen’s Day, they will be hosting the Goal Mile Run. To tell us more about it, Eamonn Cleary and Rob Stephen joined Alan in-studio.

While some retailers and hospitality providers in this county are seeing signs of a festive footfall boom, others have noticed a significant unseasonal drop in their bottom line. To find out more, Clare FM's Daragh Dolan visited Ennis and Ennistymon, where he spoke to a host of businesses.

The ancient almanac has a very good track record when it comes to predicting what will take place the following year. To find out more about the Almanac, what they got right this year, and what is in store for 2025, Alan Morrissey was joined by Nicole Buckler, Editor of Old Moore’s Almanac.

Crime Prevention Officer of Ennis Garda Station, Sgt. Catriona Holohan joined Alan in-studio with Christmas advice.

After that, we heard from historian, George Lee who spoke about his mother's memories of growing up in West Clare in the 1930's.

Clare FM’s Brian Flynn joined Alan to go through some interesting Christmas songs.

Storyteller living in Crusheen, Eddie Lenihan told us a Christmas story about baby Jesus and the spider.

Santa Claus made a special visit to deliver a message to everyone in county Clare!

To wrap up, our Christmas panel—Joe Queally, Mary Kelly, and Frankie Coote—reflected on their memories from 2024 and shared their hopes for 2025.

Watercolor Holly Berries (c) by CreativeValuation via Canva

Christmas Baubles Isolated (c) by Billion Photos via Canva

Christmas Lights (c) by DRogatnev via Canva

The number of callouts received by Clare County Fire Service so far this December has risen by a third, compared to the whole of the same month last year.

Up to the 20th of this month, fire crews attended 139 separate incidents in Clare, up from 104 in December 2023.

These include 84 storm related incidents, 19 road traffic indents, eight ambulance assists, seven oil spills, seven alarm activations, four chimney fires and five outdoor fires.

This weekend crews responded to a fire that destroyed the belltower of Ruan Church after the spire was struck by lightening, as well as a house fire in nearby Dromore, which resulted in a young couple losing their home and all their belongings.

Clare's Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly says every house fire can be devastating and he's urging people to consider that in the run up to Christmas.

A Clare haulier insists his industry requires urgent State support to stave off the existential threat posed by the closure of the Port of Holyhead.

Senior figures in the haulage industry have met with the Junior Transport Minister this morning to discuss the ongoing impact of the port being out of operation due to damage caused by Storm Darragh.

The Irish Exports Association is calling for a financial aid package for hauliers to prevent an inflationary effect on the cost of Irish exports.

Sixmilebridge native and Shannon Chamber President Eoin Gavin of Eoin Gavin Transport has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons Irish goods will be less competitive in the UK market unless the Government steps in.

CEO Of Limerick Racecourse Michael Lynch Speaking On 2024 Xmas Racing Festival

On Monday’s Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Petrina O’Halloran for Parenthood in Focus.

Petrina is the founder of Mama’s Boobie Box, mum blogger and writer for online magazine Boobingit.com.

This week, Petrina spoke about mum's mental health at Christmas.

We could be about to see warning signs to remind tourists to drive on the left-hand side of the road.

The signs, designed to remind tourists which side of the road we drive on in Ireland, would be rolled out in more tourist areas under new road sign guidelines published by the Department of Transport.

There is sporadic use of such signs at ferry ports such as Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, and Rosslare and in Gaeltacht areas, but the new updates would allow them to be erected at the exits of popular tourist attractions.

To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Councillor Joe Garrihy, and Helga Himmelsbach.

Picture © Pat Flynn

Anthony Galvin is an Ennis native living in Cork and a former Clare FM reporter.

Anthony is getting ready to undertake a huge challenge.

In January, Anthony will trek the Arctic to raise funds for Sightsavers, providing vital operations in the developing world.

You can donate here: https://sightsaversie.enthuse.com/pf/anthony-galvin-cfa3c

To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Ennis native, Anthony Galvin.

Photo (c) by by Tomas Griger via Canva