Fr Gerry Kenny presents Beyond Belief on St Patrick's Day

Fr Brendan Quinlivan leads our Sunday Prayers for today, Sunday 17th March 2024, the Fifth Sunday in Lent.

A Clarecastle Councillor admits he has grave concerns over the proposed Abbey Street Development.

It comes just one month after the Ennis 2040 DAC publicly unveiled its plans for a mixed use office and anchor-tenant led retail unit on the existing car park site.

The issue of unoccupied buildings in Ennis has come into sharp focus since, with the vacancy rate lying at 18.6%, while the local authority is taking action on 31 derelict sites there.

Former Mayor of Ennis Fine Gael Councillor Paul Murphy , believes repurposing buildings for housing and increasing living space in the town centre should be prioritised for now.

Clare's Green senator says Ireland's referral to the European Court of Justice for alleged failure to protect bog habitats is "disappointing".

The European Commission claims this county has failed to apply the Habitats Directive to protect sites designated for raised and blanket bog habitats from turf cutting.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage claims turf cutting on raised bogs was down 40% last year, while activity on 80% of raised bog in special areas of conservation has stopped completely.

Inagh Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey believes the decision by the European Commission isn't taking into account the efforts being made to gradually reduce the level of turf cutting in Ireland.

Coming up on the show

We will look ahead to a huge weekend of National League action as Clare's footballers, hurlers and ladies footballers all bid for big results.

We will talk to the Clare woman representing Ireland this weekend and hear from the Clare duo who recently signed senior contracts with Munster Rugby.

Caragh Killeen, a 6th year student from Doonbeg who attends St Joseph’s Community College in Kilkee, was part of a group which won the Best Group award at the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp.

To find out more about the project, Peter O'Connell spoke with Caragh Killeen, on Friday's Morning Focus.

A ban that would prevent supermarkets in Clare and nationwide from throwing away unsold food is one step closer.

This week the proposal was passed at the European Parlaiment and will now go before the European Council for approval.

According to the EPA , the retail and distribution sectors generated 75,000 tonnes of food waste in 2021, 10% of the national total.

Green Party Ireland South MEP Grace O'Sullivan believes if passed , the legislation will force supermarkets to reduce prices.

The head of Roads Policing in Clare is reminding motorists that time is the only healer when it comes to alcohol leaving your system this weekend.

Across St. Patrick's weekend last year, 196 drivers were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A Road Safety Authority survey shows one in four drivers have admitted they may have been over the limit when driving the morning after a night out.

Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, Head of the Roads Policing Unit in the Clare-Tipperary Garda Division Superintendent Eddie Golden has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons motorists should err on the side of caution and wait until the afternoon after a night out before getting behind the wheel.

It's claimed an NCT style system is needed to re-designate a number of popular Clare swimming spots with Bathing water status.

It comes amid renewed frustration from councillors and local groups along the North and West Coast.

On this week's episode of Ours To Protect, Pat Flynn chats with Dara Glynn, principal of the CBS primary school in Ennis, the first in Ireland to produce all its electricity using solar power.