Moroney's Bar

At a presentation at the Old Ground Hotel yesterday evening Moroney's Bar where honoured by Ennis Tidy Towns Committee for their shop front floral display. This is indeed a tremendous honour for the premises as Ennis were only two points off the overall winning total in the countries tidiest town award and won a Gold Medal for the 15th consecutive year. This is Moroney's sixth award since 2006 and plans are already afoot to increase the display for next year as the All Ireland Fleadh hits town along with the centenary celebrations for 1916. Thanks to one and all who voted for Moroney's and continued success to Ennis Tidy Towns in their drive to win the ultimate award.

Well the winter is here although in fairness the weather has been very good to us and it's time for the Ennis Trad Festival once again. Following the launch of the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Glor on 23rd October the town is gearing up for the week long festival next August and what better way to get into the spirit of things than with the trad festival.There is an superb line up of top class musicians, a session trail and master classes for the fiddle, flute, accordian, concertina and uilleann pipes. So get along to some of the sessions and all at Moroney's would like to wish the trad committee every success this year.

It's all of 25 years since Eire Og hurlers brought the Canon Hamilton back to the town and on Sunday next in Cusack Park the team will be honoured at half time in the senior final.On that infamous day The Townies beat The Mills 1-5 to 1-03 in what in truth was a dire game. If my memory serves me well The Mills missed a lot of scores in the first half with their free taker Tim Canny in particular being off target.The turning point was Pete Barry's goal into the Aldi end six minutes into the second half which drove The Townies on to their six and last county title. One of the stars of the team was 17 year old Tomas Corbett who went on to captain St Flannan's to Harty and Croke Cup title the following year.

A special word of congratulations to Ennis Leeds United Supporters… Read more

Our great friend Paddy Daffy retired last week from the outdoor staff of the Clare County Council after 35 years service. Paddy was a familiar sight to young and old around Ennis where he kept the streets and laneways clean as a whistle. He is rightly very proud of the towns recent achievements in the National Tidy Towns competition of which he was an integral part.

Paddy now hopes to take things easy,go on a few holidays and spend some time with his wife Mary and children William and Pamela. All his friends at Moroney's wish him a long,happy healthy retirement and look forward to seeing him for his usual tipple every Saturday.

Once again Ennis has registered a fantastic score in the National Tidy Towns Competition being just two points short of the overall winner,Letterkenny. Ennis was awarded a Gold Medal and it is just reward for the local Council,Tidy Towns Committee and the hundreds of volunteers and local Resident Associations that put in some much voluntary hours to make the town look so wonderful. The council has a three year plan in place with the object of winning the overall title and on the following results and with a little extra push that dream could be realised sooner than we think.

• Tidy Town Result Report Max Points Marks Awarded 2014 Marks Awarded 2015

Community Involvement & Planning 60 47 49

Built Environment & Streetscape 50 42 43

Landscaping & Open Spaces 50 47 47

Wildlife,Habitats &Natural Amenities 50 34 34

Sustainable Waste & Resource Mgt 50 19 20

Tidiness & Litter Control 90 55 56

Residential… Read more

At the closing ceremony in Sligo last weekend Mayor Of Ennis Pat Daly addressing the event said that 'Today you pass on the torch to Ennis. In doing so we have been tasked with matching your wonderful efforts and Derry and Cavan before you,in hosting this landmark event. And so the big drive to make the Fleadh 2016 a huge success begins now and what a task lays in front of the Abbey Banch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. They along with officials from Clare County Council, Clare Hoteliers and the Vintners Association who's President is our very own Charlie O Meara travelled to Sligo last weekend to see first hand what faced them next year.

They received some invaluable first hand information from publicans and hoteliers of what they encountered and how they overcame these hurdles. It certainly was an eye opener and they have invited representatives of the Sligo organising… Read more

Fr. Michael Hickey,Florida & Ennis.1935 - 2015

Fr. Michael Hickey, Naples, Florida, died peacefully on July 9th, 2015. A native of Lower Market St.,Ennis, he was son of Daniel & Eli who ran a public house down where Silver Lining is today. He was educated at Ennis CBS before joining the Redemptorists, where he was ordained in 1964. He studied in Rome, receiving a Doctorate in Theology. Later he transferred to Miami Diocese, Florida and continued further studies in law. He worked in various parishes in the Dioceses of St. Augustine & Venice. His funeral took place in Naples. He is survived by his Sister Benty, who lives in London and by relatives and friends.
Suaimhneas síoraí tabhair dó a Thiarna, agus go lonraí solus suthain air.

The Ennis Street Festival celebrates 10 years in existence and a fantastic weekend is in prospect for young and old. There will be plenty of entertainment featuring local,national and international acts and performances with many free events on the streets in Barrack Street, O Connell Square and Lysaghs Lane not to mention events in Glor and Templegate Hotel.

There will be a colorful mix of Street Entertainment, Circus, Theatre, Poetry, Comedy, Music Events, Dance, Visual Arts, Street Art, the local Art & Craft Market and the Duck Race, put together by both national and international artists and local community groups. It promoses to be a fantastic weekend and coupled with the big GAA games in Cusack Park on Saturday evening there certainly will be a buzz around the town for the weekend. List of events can be got on ennisstreetfestival.com.

Last Thursday night in Templegate St Michael's A History and Miscellany compiled by Cora (Hahessy) McNulty in association with Clare Roots Society was launched following Mass in The Cathedral which was said by Fr Tom Ryan ,himself a Michael's native. It is a magnificent history of the area stretching to 212 pages and approximately 350 photos and will bring many memories flooding back for all of us who know The Villas. The contents include 'The Dogs of the Villas, St Michael's Weddings, The Villas Twins, Children of the Villas, Hunting,Shooting and Fishing Folk, The Lodgers, Music,Song and Dance and numerous other event in what is a must read for all Townies.

Thanks to the dedication of the Clare Roots Society which was the brain child of Larry Brennan all these books will be there for future generations and give a glimpse of what life was like for their ancestors. We should… Read more

The National Flower Festival takes place in St Peter and Paul Cathedral and St Columba's Church this weekend in suppor of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. Well know RTE Sports commentator and Clare man Marty Morrissey will open the festival at Ennis Cathedral on Friday at 8pm. Members of the public can view the fantastic exhibits in both churches during the event with upwards on 3,000 people expected to travel to the town for the event.

The festival is organised by AO-IFA, the Association of Irish Floral Artists and it was founded in 1973 and has over 80 clubs spread all over the country. O Connell Street and O Connell Square will be closed to traffic on Saturday with the influx of visitors and there is also a concert on in The Cathedral on Saturday evening at 8pm, Ceiliuradh Na hInse.The exhibits in the churches are not like you… Read more

The death has occurred of Fr. Oliver O’Doherty better known to countless students in St Flannan's as Ollie Ba. Without his influence there would never have been gaelic football in Flannan's and indeed the present Clare football manager Colm Collins played under his guidance for many years. Obviously with hurling being the main sport in Flannan's he was fighting an uphill battle as many of the footballers were excellent hurlers and the big ball was an after thought. However this did not deter the flame haired Irish teacher who finally saw the Blues win the holy grail of Munster Colleges A football in 1993 and 95 beating the famed Tralee CBS and St Brendan's Killarney in the respective finals. Indeed they also contested the 94 final where Brendan's beat them. Although not in charge at the time Fr Ollie was there to witness these triumphs and everyone associated with Flannan's… Read more

Well all the waiting is over and all Clare GAA supporters will be heading to Cusack Park and Thurles to cheer on the footballers and hurlers in their Munster Championship clashes with near neighbours Limerick. First into action will be the footballers in Cusack Park with thrown in at 7pm on Saturday evening. With two Eire Og men taking the field in Dean Ryan and Ciaran Russell and Davy O Halloran waiting in the wings no doubt the attendance will be swelled with Townies and hopefully we can get one over on the Treaty men after our recent defeat to them in the National League. The Clare team lines out as follows : Clare team: Joe Hayes; Ciaran Russell, Kevin Hartnett, Martin McMahon; Shane Hickey, Gordon Kelly, Dean Ryan; Cathal O'Connor, Gary Brennan; Shane Brennan, Jamie Malone, Sean Collins; Eoin Cleary, Podge Collins, Pat Burke.

Then on Sunday it's off to… Read more

Since the inception of the Fleadh Nua in 1970 Ennis has been its spiritual home since 1974 and thus we kick start the 42nd event with the All Ireland Fleadh to come in August 2016. Fleadh Nua has developed from a 3 day event to a festival spanning 8 days and Ennis will comes alive to the sound of traditional music,song and dance. As always there is a huge programme of events with free events during the day in The Food Haven, Cafe Aroma, the new Maria Assumpta Hall, The County Museum, the O Connell Monument, Cois Na hAbhna, The Tea Cosy Market Street, Bia Agus Caife, The Cloister, The Community Centre Chapel Lane, O Briens Parnell Street, The Rowan Tree and of course the pub session trail. With Clare kicking off their Munster Championship this Saturday and Sunday it promised to be a hectic week of music in the… Read more

After a lapse of 39 years the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil will return to the Ennis in August 2016. There was terrible disappointment this time last year when Ennis was pipped to the post by Sligo but this time around there was tremendous joy when the Ardchomhairle of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann made the announcement in Dublin yesterday afternoon. Ennis was awarded the honour of hosting the festival ahead of Drogheda and Sligo and it is estimated that it will bring a financial bonanza of €30 million to the town along with 300,000 plus visitors.

It was last hosted in the town in 1977 (prior to that 1956) and for those of us of a certain vintage it was an unbelievable event.The Fairgreen was a sea of tents,there were musicians on every corner and walking up O Connell Street was like leaving Croke Park after an All Ireland Final such were… Read more

It was on Union Glacier last Thursday in The Antarctic that our very owm Townie Keith Whyte wrote his name into the history books of Ultra Marathoners with his record breaking win in the 100K Ice-Marathon on Antarctica. He completed the race in 9 hours 26 minutes and two seconds on the 5 lap 20K loop course in temperatures that plummeted to minus 20 plus and where there is 24 hour daylight. To us ordinary mortals this is an extraordinary feat but one we have come accustomed to Keith doing over the years in Ultra Marathons all over Europe but this was on another level as even getting to the race was an ordeal in itself.Everything hinged on weather conditions and landing on ice on a Russian type aircraft is not for the faint hearted.

For those of us accustomed to seeing Keith on his trice daily training runs around Ennis… Read more

Well that was a quick twelve months but as they say time does not stand still for anybody and we're all a year older now ! Well we did have a lovely summer and autumn even if we are paying for it now with constant rain. Here in Moroney's Charlie and his loyal staff have the bar decked out for the festive season and the shopping is all but complete with the final push tomorrow for last minute presents.

As we salute the end of another year Charlie and all the staff at Moroney's John, Hanna, Majella, Sarah Jane wish all their loyal customers a warm and Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year and thank you most sincerely for your continued support. We also think of lost friends at this time and hope they are looking down on us from on high. So do drop in and say… Read more

Just published by the Clare Roots Society is an excellent book Summerhill (Ennis) Times Past New Beginnings by Nuala Kennedy (nee Naughton) who was herself born and reared in Summerhill. To people not familiar with Ennis, Summerhill is situated between Carmody Street and The Market area and is made up of 20 houses whose first tenants moved in on 26th February 1949. In her extremely comprehensive book Nuala details each and every resident from that day to the present with the book dotted with photos which will bring back memories of times and friends past.

Two present day residents Maura Verling and Carmel Healy recall moving into the houses just after they were built and there are also articles on sporting heroes Noelie Ryan, Vincent Nevin (Twice South Of Ireland Champion 1976+78)and his brother John Nevin of Clare hurling fame. Families synonymous with Summerhill are the O Briens, Hursons, Ryans, Meehans,… Read more

Have you ever heard your parents or grandparents speak about neighbours or shops that are no longer around but were well know in old Ennis in their time and I'm sure the answer will be yes. When I was growing up in the Lower Market or to give it it's correct name The Mall I often heard my late father Gerry speak of the Guiton family who lived across the road from the pub but were long gone when I arrived on the scene. However thanks to meeting local historian and author Larry Brennan I was given an insight into the Guiton family.

The Guiton family lived in 35 Market Street (17 The Mall) which is now home to Subway or to folk of my generation My Lady boutique and overhead was Gallery's hairdressers. When Richard Guiton went to his eternal rest on Sunday 27th May 1957 the town lost one… Read more

It was with shock we learned on Saturday 26th July that our colleague and staunch Leeds supporter Alan Murphy had suffer a torn achilles tendon in a charity game. In actual fact Alan only got the call on Friday night as numbers were short and true to form he was not found wanting when the call came.

Alan is now over his operation but faces a long rehabilitation and all his friends at Ennislusc and Moroney's wish him a speedy recovery.

Today is a monumental day in the life of Sarah Jane White and Fran Harding as they walk down the aisle in St Joseph's Church and tie the knot on their marriage. Sarah is well know to all the customers in Moroney's having worked behind the bar with her brother John and has the voice of an angel when she's called upon for a song.

Her husband to be Fran is an avid Tipperary supporter and a die hard member of the Tipperary Suuporters Club so you can imagine the slagging he puts up with living the The Banner County but no better man to fight his corner. All their friend at Moroney's wish Sarah and Fran years of happiness and look forward to seeing them after their honeymoon for a few sociables.