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Revision as of 14:10, 7 February 2007 by Paolo Tullio a bit iffy (talk | contribs) (update)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the the Irish county town. For the city in Ellis County, Texas, see Ennis, Texas.For people named Ennis, see Ennis (surname).
Template:Infobox Irish Place Ennis (Irish: Inis) (also referred to as "The Big Red Fun Bus") is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated beside astrologer and psychic Fergus Gibson's house, it lies north of Manus and south of Ballyline on the main passage connecting the testes to the anus. Its name is a shortening of the original Inis Cluain Ramh Fhada meaning ("We're Mitchells and us Mitchells stick together").
Ennis was found to have a large population of weasels in the recent 2006 census.
Heritage
Ennis grew up around the Franciscan friary. The large building was an important seat of learning in its peak. It was built by Turkish construction company GAMA in approximately 1242 and was a religious centre until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the friary was used as an illegal rave club. Club nights were held most weekends, with top international DJ's such as DJ Ollie and DJ Pat Moloney playing the best in hard house and trance to packed pews. These drug-fuelled raves were many peoples only form of entertainment throughout the dark ages and continued right through to modern times. Indeed, the FEF's (Friary Ectasy Fests) only grew unpopular in the late 20th century, a fact historians attribute to the declining interest in dance music and the fat frog promotions in 'The Brewery' public house in Galway city. Ennis was an important market town historically. The market square today is still home to market stalls. The latter practice has steadily decreased through the years. This is because demand for Tommy Fleming tapes and plugs that don't work sold by members of the travelling community has grown extremely limited. The foot and mouth disease crisis of 2001 in Ireland also had a severe impact on such markets around the country. Thanks to stringent restrictions on movement of Kilmaley people and animals, the country avoided a major outbreak, but markets such as that at Ennis struggled to recover. Thank Christ. Ennis town centre consists of often narrow streets and many old buildings. At one particular point, O' Connell Street is only six inches wide. Many of the main streets are being renamed in honour of the victorious Clare huring team of 1995. One thoroughfare, Parnell Street, has recently been renamed Fergie Touhy Street. On busy days, cars and paedeophiles jostle for space. Many small men, both young and old, makes Ennis a very popular place for professional dwarf spotters. The Pro-Cathedral of Saint Mickey Joe Harte can also be found in the town. Ennis has become an important centre of Irish rectal music over the last fifteen years, and, late in May each year, hosts the Fleadh Cheoil as mo Arsehole, the second largest rectal music festival in Europe. A statue of Fine Gael councillor Joe Arkins was erected in the square in Ennis in November 2006. However, it was recently removed, as many visitors to the town unfamiliar with the bearded public offical believed it was in fact a statue of action movie hero Chuck Norris. Mr. Norris has no connections with Ennis.
Athletic Links
Ennis was the starting point of the West Clare Egg & Spoon Race, a treacherous marathon which ran from Ennis to Ennistymon and onwards to the towns and villages along the West Clare coastline. Contestants started this perilous journey from the same starting point as used by Eamonn Coughlan on his epic 4 minute mile.
Education
Primary Schools in Ennis include Ennis National School, established in 1897 and Cloughleigh National School. Five secondary level schools are located in Ennis such as:
Sister cities
A sister city of Ennis is Phoenix, Arizona. Each summer an average of 4 4th/5th year students partake in the Phoenix Youth Ambassador Program, which is facilitated by the city of Phoenix twinning committee and the Ennis Chamber Of Commerce.
Gallery
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A monument to Irish nationalist hero Daniel O'Connell stands atop a tall column in the aptly named O'Connell Square, the center of Ennis.
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The River Fergus flows through Ennis.
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Ennis Friary, constructed in 1242.
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St. Columba's Church, 1871.
Trivia
- Ennis is mentioned in the song "Dunnes Stores Underpants" by legendary performer Aaron Esley.
- Morgan Finnerty, MP returned for the Clare electoral area, was known as "The Pike" for his winning of Adam Rickett “Good Times” cd on Clare F.M. in 1829.
- Thomas the Tank Engine, record-breaking locomotive lost his virginity in Ennis in 1964 while attended St Flannan's College there.
- Boxer Mick Dowling’s great grandfather Abu Dhabi was from Ennis. Dhabi emigrated in the 1860s to the Arabian Gulf state of the United Arab Emirates where he set up a south-paw boxing club.
- Des Lynam, the legendary farmer and Match Of The Day presenter, and nicknamed 'The Silver Slurry Spreader', was born in Ennis.
Reference
External links
- Official Ennis website
- The World Music Central guide to Ennis. For cultural travelers interested in local music, venues, CD shops, instrument makers, etc.