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On Wednesday’s Morning Focus, you heard a conversation with Bobby McMahon, the Mountshannon native who currently lives in Japan. Bobby is the frontman for the Eirfoyl, a Japanese band, although they more closely resemble a miniature, musical version of the United Nations! Eirfoyl are releasing their debut album this Friday the 16th of January. Alan Morrissey, on Thursday's Morning Focus had a chat with Eirfoyl: Bobby McMahon, American guitarist Jim Lewis, drummer Edwin Huits from the Netherlands, and Japanese bassist Holy. Photo (c) eirfoyl.com

On Thursday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey spoke with Mel Mercier — Tony-nominated, multi-award-winning composer, sound designer and director of the Irish Gamelan Orchestra, MÓNCKK new music ensemble and PULSUS, Ireland’s first traditional percussion ensemble. His new album First Conviction, released tomorrow (Friday, 16th January), features his powerful soundtrack for the RTÉ podcast and TV documentary of the same name, performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra alongside an international line-up of outstanding musicians. Blending orchestral strings, African guitar, jazz piano, traditional flute, voice and electronics, the music reflects one of the most compelling documentary stories of modern Ireland. Photo (c) Design and creatives by Michael McKeon, Sean Malone, Scott Bryan, John Kilkenny and Darragh Treacy.

On Thursday's Morning Focus with Alan Morrissey, we spoke with Dawn Bennett, owner of Cocolemon in Kilrush, who recently shared the difficult news that the much-loved local business will be closing its doors next month (10th of February) after six years at the heart of the community. Cocolemon has been a place of friendship, fun and familiar faces for so many in Kilrush and beyond, and this morning Dawn spoke about the journey, the memories, and what this goodbye means for her, her team and the town. Photo (c) Cocolemon, Kilrush

On this week's episode of Clare Women In Business, Pat Flynn chats with Laetitia Sorohan, a jewellery designer and founder of Naiiad Contemporary Designer Jewellery. Clare Women in Business is funded by Coimisiún na Meán with the television licence fee.

New data has revealed that more than one million visits are being made from Ireland every day to illegal streaming websites — highlighting just how widespread piracy and so-called ‘dodgy boxes’ have become. To unpack what’s driving this trend and what it means for consumers and businesses, Alan Morrissey had an interesting chat with Pat Clarke Browne, Technology Expert with Munster Business in Shannon on Thursday's Morning Focus. Photo (c) Zeshi89 from pixabay via Canva

Golf Ireland has unveiled a major boost for the women’s amateur game with the launch of a new national championship circuit for 2026 — and it’s a development that couldn’t come at a better time. Joining Alan Morrissey on Thursday's Morning Focus was Ennis native and Lahinch member Aideen Walsh, the 2025 Bridgestone Women’s Order of Merit winner, to get her reaction to the new North, South, East and West of Ireland Women’s Championships and what it means for the future of the game. Photo (c) Clare FM

A Government scheme providing hot meals to primary school children is being praised for tackling food poverty — but serious concerns are now being raised about how it’s being run. An Oireachtas committee has heard that the programme may not be sustainable, with principals warning of heavy administrative burdens, food quality issues and rising waste. Clare FM’s Sean Lyons has been speaking about this with Meelick Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth. We also heard from Colm Davoren, Assistant Principal of CBS Primary School in Ennis and Gareth Heagney, Principal of Sixmilebridge National School who spoke with Alan Morrissey on Thursday's Morning Focus. Photo (c) rimmabondarenko via Canva

Concerns are growing over road safety along the stretch from Senan’s rugby pitch to the Camogie roundabout in Shannon, with residents warning that speeding, illegal parking and the lack of footpaths are putting pedestrians and cyclists at risk. The road serves multiple sports facilities and nearby housing estates, and locals say traffic volumes and dangerous behaviour have increased significantly in recent years. On Thursday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey spoke with Sinn Fein Shannon MD councillor, James Ryan, who has confirmed he’s raising the issue with the council following concerns highlighted by a local resident. Photo (c) Clare FM

A Clare forester has described the over €2 million issued to forest owners in Clare as "pitiful". The payment has been issued under the annual income tax free forestry premium payments related to 4,840 hecatares of land across the county. In total, €23.5m has been paid out by the Government to more than 6,500 forest owners across the country. Darragh-based forester and former Ennis councillor, Brian Meaney, says in comparison to those received by beef and dairy farmers, the grants are piecemeal.

New rules governing short-term lets are set to come into force ahead of the 2026 tourist season, with major implications for Airbnb hosts right across Clare. With Rent Pressure Zones now nationwide and new planning and registration requirements on the way, there’s growing uncertainty for people renting out short-term accommodation. Joining Alan Morrissey on Thursday's Morning Focus to discuss the impact of this was Lahinch Fine Gael councillor Bill Slattery, who’s raised the issue at Clare County Council, and North Clare Airbnb host Lorna Cahill. Photo (c) Guillermo Spelucin via Canva.

A long-running refuse problem in one of Ennis’s busiest public car parks has left a local business at breaking point. Laura Cahir of An Binsin Luachra Boutique says she’s been raising concerns with Clare County Council for over two years about persistent waste and poor standards at Moran’s Car Park, with no action taken. Alan Morrissey has been speaking with Laura on Wednesday's Morning Focus. During their chat she explains the situation and why she feels going public is the only option left open to her. Photo (c) Laura Cahir

Clare County Council has announced its intention to introduce permanent partial pedestrianisation on Ennis's main thoroughfare. The local authority is submitting a proposal under Section 38 of the Roads Act to keep O'Connell Street pedestrian-only from March 2nd with the exception of the period of 6am to 11am when vehicular access will be allowed to facilitate business deliveries and refuse collection. It follows a survey which ran from December 8th to January 4th, with almost 90% of respondents supporting some form of pedestrianisation and more than half advocating for full pedestrianisation. Ennis Municipal District Acting Senior Engineer Paddy Tiernan says it's the will of the people.

Spanish Point Mentor Eimear Considine On Munster LGFA PPS Senior A Semi Final

Fr Brendasn Quinlivan presents this Sunday's Beyond Belief which is a Heart to Heart with Fr. Liam McCarthy OFM from the friary in Ennis. He shares reflections on his life, vocation and ministry for over 70 years as a Franciscan as well as choosing some pieces of music special to him,

Fr Brendan Quinlivan presents our Sunday Prayer for Sunday 11th January 2026 the Baptism of the Lord.

Fr Brendan Quinlivan presents our Sunday Prayer for Sunday 11th January 2026. the Baptism of the Lord.

It's feared the development of a new hospital in Ennis could be hamstrung by objections, unless a proposed reform of the planning system comes to pass. Ennis Municipal District has confirmed it's working with Clare County Council to identity sites suited to accommodate a new hospital in the county town. There was much excitement when the Health Minister committed to progressing all three recommendations of HIQA's review of emergency care capacity in the Midwest in the tail end of last year. Since then, the question of where the region's new model 3 hospital with an emergency department will be located has been to the forefront of the minds of local representatives in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary. At this week's meeting of Ennis's local elected representatives, Fianna Fáil Councillor Pat Daly has urged Ennis Municipal District to "take the lead" in finding a serviced site in the vicinity of the county town that can accommodate a new hospital. In response, Ennis MD says it's working with the Clare County Council's Planning Department to identify a "range of sites" potentially suited to such a facility. The consideration of sites, it claims is considered "sensitive" due to "landownership arrangements, HSE announcements and commercial sensitivities". It's also stated that the local authority is in regular contact with the HSE on this matter. Councillor Daly believes in the event Clare is chosen as the location of the new facility, there must be a site ready. Separately, a joint motion tabled at this week's meeting of Clare County Council has sought to commend the Government on recently-announced plans to clamp down on judicial reviews. The legislation in question would include a number of restrictions, including that applicants looking to make an objection must be directly affected by the development. Among those who put forward the motion were Councillor Daly and Mayor of Ennis, Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard. Councillor Howard claims it's not unthinkable that a new hospital in the town could be held up by objectors, unless changes are implemented.

Clare County Council is being urged to submit "ambitious plans" to ensure communities along the Shannon Estuary see the benefit of a major infrastructural project. Gas Networks Ireland confirmed in November that Cahiracon in Kildysart will be the location of Ireland’s first strategic gas emergency reserve which will act as a backup to the country’s gas supply. It’s expected the development will create 300 to 400 jobs during construction as well as 40 to 50 each year when operational. Quilty Fianna Fáil Councillor Michael Shannon believes the county must seize the opportunity to significantly improve surrounding infrastructure.

While the mock exams are for practice, many students find them at least as stressful as the actual state exams. This can be due to the fact they usually take place in January or February, a time of the school year when students tend to feel ill-prepared. Another cause of stress is that the students receive the results of their mocks in front of their friends, as opposed to in the summer and online for the state exams. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Principal of thetuitioncentre.ie, Dan Sheedy.

The European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed that 2025 was the third warmest year on record and that global temperatures from the past three years have averaged more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial levels. It also confirmed that the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest years on record. This is the first time the level of global warming, over a three-year period, has exceeded 1.5C. For more on this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Leading Climate Expert of NUI Maynooth, Professor John Sweeney. Image (c) Valentin Petrescu's Images via Canva