Staff from Clare County Council's Gardening section are currently spring planting throughout Ennis. Pictured at the Club Bridge today is Gardening staff member, Derek Toomey.

3PM UPDATE: The lights are operational once again ORIGINAL UPDATE: Traffic Lights are out at Captain Macs cross near St Flannan's College in Ennis. Motorists are urged to exercise caution until power has been restored.

If you are a repair professional or business owner you may be interested in being part of Ireland’s upcoming online repair directory at www.repairmystuff.ie due to be launched in the coming weeks. To be included in this new repair directory that will also cover County Clare please email: envawareness@clarecoco.ie or telephone 065 6846386.

The public carpark at the Ennis Market building will be closed on Wednesday 21 February and Thursday 22 February to facilitate essential maintenance.

A collection of unique watercolours painted in 1891 by Rev. Lucious O’Brien is currently on exhibit at the Cúlturlann Sweeney Gallery, Kilkee. All of the works depict locations in and around the Kilkee area. The watercolour collection was purchased by the Kilrush and District (Kilkee) Lions Club at auction in the mid 1980’s for £4,000 and presented to the Sweeney Memorial Library on permanent loan for safekeeping in the early 1990’s. The exhibition runs from 18 February to 2 March. For further information please contact Tom Corry on 065 9060769.

Musicians wanted for the Fleadh Cheoil na Mumhan float in the Ennis St Patricks Day Parade

The carpark at Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, will be open for supporters travelling to the Clare Senior Hurlers NHL game v Cork GAA on Sunday at 2pm. Carpark open from midday to 6.00 pm.

Young people across Clare are being encouraged to dream big for Engineers Week 2018 from 24 February to 2 March. Clare County Library will be showing the movie ‘Dream Big: Engineering Our World’ at Ennistymon Library on Tuesday 27 February at 11.30am, at Scariff Library on 28 February at 11.30am and at Kilkee Library on Thursday 1 March at 2.00pm. Invited audiences include Junior Cycle students from Post Primary Schools. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, ‘Dream Big: Engineering Our World’ aims to transform how members of the public think about engineering. Coordinated nationally by Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme and funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Engineers Week is a week-long festival of events celebrating the world of engineering in Ireland. The aims of the week include encouraging young people, their teachers and parents to explore the fun world of engineering, generating interest and enthusiasm for engineering in their everyday lives and inspiring young people to explore engineering career paths. The week also serves to highlight the diverse opportunities engineering offers. Visit www.engineersweek.ie for more on Engineers Week 2018.

Applications are now open for the €1.6m Social Enterprise Development Fund, launched by Social Innovation Fund Ireland in partnership with Local Authorities Ireland. You could be eligible a cash grant of up to €50,000, access to a leading Accelerator programme and a nationwide peer network. Deadline: 28th March 2018. Find out more here: http://www.socialinnovation.ie/social-enterprise-development The objective of the fund is to find and back social enterprises that add to the social and economic fabric of their community by way of social impact. The fund will provide critical support to the most innovative and impactful social enterprises across Ireland, helping them to: - Increase their social impact - Increase their traded income - Create more jobs - Develop long-term, effective and sustainable solutions across Ireland

Clare County Council in conjunction with the Heritage Council and Nicholas de Jong Associates are preparing a design project to revitalise the network of laneways within Ennis town centre. The objectives of the project are to maximise the role of the laneways in improving the public realm, enhancing external spaces, and improving permeability and pedestrian linkages. There will be a public information evening to display the preliminary public realm proposals for the laneways on Tuesday 20 February 2018 between 5.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. in the Old Ground Hotel. Photograph by Brooks Video

Pictured left to right at Áras Contae an Chláir following the announcement that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has included Clare in its Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities are Pat Dowling, Chair of the Clare Age Friendly Alliance and Chief Executive of Clare County Council; Carole Head, Chair of the Clare Older People’s Council and Clare Age Friendly Alliance member; Karen Fennessy, Age Friendly Development Officer for Clare County Council and Clare Age Friendly Alliance member; and Cllr. Tom McNamara, Mayor of Clare. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has included County Clare in its Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. As a member, County Clare will be part of a growing global movement of communities, cities and other sub-national levels of government that have pledged to meet the needs of their older residents. The Global Network currently includes 541 cities and communities in 37 countries, covering over 179 million people worldwide. Among existing members are Dallas (USA), Reykjavik (Iceland), Barcelona (Spain), Rennes (France), Busan (South Korea), Porto (Portugal), Volvograd (Russia) and Liverpool (UK).

Clare senior hurler and youth wellness ambassador, Podge Collins, and Clare senior hurling captain, Patrick O’Connor, at the launch of Clare County Library’s ‘Healthy Ireland at Your Library’ programme in DeValera Library, Ennis. Also pictured Helen Walsh, County Librarian, Caroline Aherne, Co-Ordinator. Through funding granted by ‘Healthy Ireland’, Clare County Library has enhanced its health and wellbeing book collections (digital and hardcopy), and provided for staff training, events and promotion. Events in Clare County Library branches to date include workshops on mindfulness and meditation and a ‘Wellness for Life’ workshop. Other events which will take place around the county in the coming weeks will include nutrition advice workshops, talks on the benefits of walking, herbalism and stress reduction, yoga sessions and a visit from the Irish Heart Foundation mobile unit. For further details contact Sean Lemass Public Library, Shannon, at 061 364266 or check the events page at www.clarelibrary.ie MORE - http://www.clarecoco.ie/recreation-culture/news/-healthy-ireland-at-your-local-library.html