Category: News

PRELIMINARY discussions have taken place between Ennis Town Council and landowners about the future development of the current site of Ennis National School.

It is understood that the council met with representatives of Eircom and other stakeholders located near the Kilrush Road site last month.

The site is zoned for commercial purposes under the current Ennis and Environs Development Plan. The land is owned by Ennis Parish.

Council officials, landowners and representatives of Ennis Parish have held preliminary discussions with the aim of developing an integrated plan for the overall development of the site. It is thought that individual planning applications would not receive approval.

A spokesperson for Killaloe Diocese said that these discussions would also involve the Department of Education and Skills, who own the school buildings.

Ennis parish administrator Fr Tom Hogan said the discussions between all parties are at a “very preliminary stage”.

Local councillor Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said he would be concerned about the impact any development would have on the Kilrush Road area.

He said, “I know myself from parents trying to drop off kids at the school, it’s impossible to get back out onto the road with the traffic. You have a lot of residents too living on that road and they would have to be consulted as well. The residents there have expressed concerns over traffic.”

Ennis National School has been located at its current site since 1971. The school is expected to move to a new building at Ashline within the next two years.

The new site is a 2.34 hectare, fully-serviced, green-field site. The works project involves the construction of a new 32-classroom school including ancillary accommodation in an 18-month building programme. An extended school hall, dressing rooms, shower facilities and a pitch have also been incorporated into the plans.

These extra facilities will not be funded by the department so the school has set up a fundraising committee. Construction work has started at the site and is expected to be completed by September 2013.

THE Department of Education and Skills has raised a number of queries regarding the possible lease of land from a Killaloe school to a local community development group.

The Ballina Killaloe Sports and Community Development Company Ltd are seeking to lease land from Clare VEC at St Anne’s Community College for the development of new sports facilities.

The September meeting of Clare VEC heard that the Department has now written back to the group with a “significant” number of queries.

CEO George O’Callaghan told the meeting that the Department had concerns over a number of aspects of the proposed agreement, including the length of the lease and the amount of land being sought by the company.

Mr O’Callaghan said the Department also has concerns over the impact any arrangement might have on the future development of the school.

Mr O’Callaghan told the meeting that the company had requested some time to consider the Department’s requests. He said the company had also requested time to look at “other options”.

The meeting heard that the VEC must first receive the approval of the minister before entering into any agreement.

Mr O’Callaghan said the Department had indicated a desire to work with the Ballina Killaloe Sports Development Company.

Committee member Cllr Peter Considine (FF) urged the company to work with the Department on the project.

Mr O’Callaghan said the VEC expect to reach agreement with a Kildysart-based community group about the lease of lands at St John Bosco Community College in the next few weeks.

He said that the heads of agreement had been sent to the Department of Education and Skills.

He said the group had been able to address the queries raised by the Department.

Mr O’Callaghan added, “We would expect to be able to sort it out in the next couple of weeks.”

STRIKE action will take place at Shannon Airport later this month if “meaningful” progress on the issue of pensions is not made in the coming week. That was the SIPTU warning after the union announced it was to temporarily suspend planning rolling strikes at Shannon, Cork and Dublin airports.

Strike action was due to begin at Shannon Airport yesterday, October 1, but this has been put on ice to allow for further negotiations to take place.

Union bosses say they will “reluctantly” re-enter talks at Labour Relations Commission (LRC) with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Aer Lingus this week.

This comes following warnings from the Aer Lingus top brass that they would sue the union officials personally for any revenue lost as a result of the strike.

Despite the mini breakthrough in the dispute, SIPTU officials warned that they have merely removed the strike notice temporarily and still have a mandate to strike at Shannon if progress is not made.

The dispute centres on a € 170 million shortfall in Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme, a pension jointly operated by DAA, Aer Lingus and SR Technics. The dispute involves a large number of SIPTU members but Impact, Unite, Mandate and the TEEU members are also involved.

Meanwhile, new figures released by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) show that number of flights using Shannon Airport continued to fall in August, despite an overall increase nationally.

An average of 56 flights used Shannon Airport each day in August, a 4.7 per cent drop on the previous year. There was also a 1.7 per cent drop at Cork Airport, but these figures were offset by a 2.7 per cent increase in the number of flights using Dublin Airport.

Nationally, the August figures are encouraging for Ireland as it was the first time this year that en-route traffic movements, North Atlantic communications flights and international arrivals and departures have all shown an increase.

THEY’RE the sounds that have made Clare a haven for traditional music lovers around the world and now they’ve been made accessible to everyone thanks to a new online initiative called the Music of Clare Project.

Clare County Library and the Clare Arts Office have joined forces in the venture, the first stage of which concentrates on the traditional music of the county and featuring the biographies and music of some of Clare’s best known traditional music artists.

These include Martin Hayes, Micho Russell, Willie Clancy, Sharon Shannon, Chris Droney, Dennis Cahill, The Kilfenora Céilí Band, Martin Junior Crehan, Elizabeth Crotty, Kevin Crawford, Kieran Hanrahan, The Tulla Céilí Band and Kitty Hayes.

“This new online project will allow immediate access to all those interested in the music of County Clare, and will greatly enhance the existing historical and cultural resources on the library website itself,” said Clare County Librarian, Helen Walsh in launching the initiative.

“We want members of the public to be able to listen to traditional tunes associated with Clare, played by musicians who are from the county or who have lived in it for many years,” said senior executive librarian Anthony Edwards.

“We have also included transcriptions of the featured tunes, to help anyone who wishes to learn the basic notes of a tune so as to be able to play it. Links to alternative transcriptions are also provided,” he added.

The project also includes a music videos feature, a collection of embedded online videos of Clare musicians from YouTube. Historical and biographical articles place the music of Clare in context and provide back- ground and further resources for study and enjoyment.

The project received financial support from the Clare County Arts Office which, with Arts Council funding, sponsored an initial researcher, Paddi O’Connell, and funded the transcription of some of the tunes by Geraldine Cotter.

“The County Arts Office is committed to promoting the wealth of traditional music in Clare and we were delighted to work with Clare Library Service on such an exciting and important project,” said Siobhán Mulcahy, County Arts Officer.

The Music of Clare Project team consisted of executive librarian Maureen Comber, library staff officer Jackie Dermody and project manager Anthony Edwards.

The Music of Clare Project is accessible at www.clarelibrary.ie.

GARDAÍ have launched an investigation after a man was stabbed at his home in Shannon.

The serious assault occurred at around 6.30am on Sunday morning in Cluain Airne, Shannon.

The occupier of the house opened his front door and was then stabbed in the stomach by a man who was standing outside. The man then fled the scene.

The injured man called the emergency services and was treated at the scene before being taken to Limerick Regional Hospital for treatment but his condition isn’t believed to be life threatening.

Gardaí have released details of the person they believe is responsible for the attack. He is described as being 5’8” in height and approximately 2021 years of age. He was wearing a navy jacket with an Eircom logo on the back.

Gardaí say he may have had a black eye. The injured man is currently recovering in hospital.

Gardaí in Shannon are appealing for anyone with information on the incident or anyone who may have seen anything to contact them.

GORT mother and son team, Gina and Cathal Casey, made their own piece of history last week when they both won bronze medals at the World Kickboxing Championships on Florida. The pair, who are both students of Lisa Connolly, at the Gort Taekwon-do Academy returned home over the weekend with their unique set of medals.

Gina, who is a special needs assistant at Gort Community School, and Cathal, a second year pupil at the school, both won the medals for Ireland competing in the ‘Light Contact Sparring’ category.

Fourteen-year-old Cathal is a black belt in Taekwondo, while Gina has a red/blue striped belt. The pair began Taekwondo three years ago and are now leading members of the Gort Taekwondo Academy. After making it past the initial elimination rounds, both were delighted to take home bronze medals from their first ever WKA World Championships.

The pair’s trip to America was made possible, in part, because of € 500 in fundraising conducted by Gort Community College.

According to their instructor, Lisa Connolly, who is herself a European Taekwon-do Champion and fourth degree black belt, Taekwon-do has many benefits for those who practice it. “The main things that people learn concentration, discipline and respect. Respect is a very big thing in Taekwon-do,” said Lisa.

“People’s concentration can improve because there is a lot of repetition, and if you don’t get something right you have to do it over and over.”

To find out more about the Gort Taekwon-do Academy call Lisa on 087 2070583.

A DEAL to purchase Tinarana House in East Clare looks set to be complete before the end of the month as three separate offers have been made for the property.

The property, which was bought for an estimated € 14 million less than a decade ago, is likely to be sold for € 2 million.

The property is being sold by GVM Auctioneers in Limerick, who yesterday confirmed that a deal was imminent.

“We have had a lot of interest in the property and a lot of viewings. At the moment, we are looking at three different offers which I would describe as being substantial,” said Tom Crosse of GVM.

“While I can’t give any more detail about the offers, I can say that they are in the region of the € 2 million guide price. Things are moving quickly and we would expect a deal to be finalised before the end of the month.”

Located in Ogonnelloe, Tinarana House boasts 16 bedrooms and 222 acres of grassland and woodland.

Plans had been approved by Clare County Council to convert the property into a major tourism, sports and leisure centre but planning permission for a € 100 million development at the site were turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

One of the reasons for overturning the local authority planning permission was that it was in an area designated as visually vulnerable in the 2005. The latest version of the Clare County Development Plan sites the development of a tourism facility at Tinerana House as one of its desired outcomes.

Meanwhile, the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara was purchased last week for an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of € 400,000. The 32bedroom hotel was due to go up for auction on Saturday but an agreement was reached before the auction could take place.

Auctioneer for the sale, Colm O’Donnellan could not give any detail of the final sale price of the property but did confirm that the property was sold as a going concern and will be relaunched as a hotel.

THE daughter of controversial revolutionary figure Che Guevara was in West Clare this weekend to attend the Che do Bheatha festival in Kilkee and pay a visit to the Loop Head Lighthouse.

Aleida Guevara March, a doctor based in Havana, was one of the guests of honour at the three-day long Che do Bheatha festival which was held to mark the 51st anniversary of Che Guevara’s visit to Kilkee in September of 1961.

Celebrations to mark Guevara’s connections to Clare and Galway have come in for heavy criticism in America – where he is seen as a murderous dictator by some high profile politicians.

Dr March was also one of the final guests to visit the 19th century Loophead Lighthouse before it was closed for the winter. Figures released today show that 17,423 people visited the lighthouse during the opening period up to Sunday, September 30.

Preliminary estimates indicate that 71 per cent of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 50 per cent were holidaymakers and 35 per cent were day trippers, with local visitors accounting for the remainder. Overseas visitors accounted for 29 per cent of the total figure.

It is estimated that the 18-week opening period was worth approximately € 650,000 to the local economy.

“It was an honour to have accompanied Dr Guevara and the Cuban ambassador, Teresita Trujillo, on their visit to the lighthouse which they both enjoyed immensely. Dr Guevara was very impressed with the new ex- hibition and particularly enjoyed the tour of the tower and the superb views from the top,” said Cillian Murphy, Chairman of Loop Head Tourism.

“The closure of the lighthouse brings to an end another great season which saw huge benefits to the local tourism operators. The figures reflect a high concentration of family business and this is the marketplace Loop Head Tourism is keen to be targeting and produce growth in the industry into the future. This in turn will make the whole community on the peninsula more sustainable in the long term. Once again, this project shows the benefits of local community and statutory agencies working in partnership.”

Ruairi Deane of Shannon Development said that Loophead Lighthouse was an effort to establish an anchor visitor attraction in West Clare with strong overseas appeal.

“Loop Head Lighthouse is now a wonderful success story that highlights what true partnership between state agencies and community bodies can achieve,” he said.

A Kilrush man has been sentenced to five months in prison for offences committed on the premises of a shop in the West Clare town earlier this year.

Patrick Hall (26), with an address at 3 Chapel Street, Kilrush, appeared before Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Mr Hall pleaded guilty charges of theft, trespassing and criminal damage.

The charges arose out of an incident at Patrick Burke Menswear in Kilrush on March 26.

After hearing a brief outline of the facts of the case, Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction.

Garda Conor Flaherty of Kilrush Garda Station told the court that gardaí responded to a call of a man on the roof of Patrick Burke Menswear.

Garda Flaherty said that he observed Mr Hall damaging an air con- ditioning unit.

He said the accused took a copper pipe from the unit. Mr Hall was arrested but gave no explanation for taking the pipe.

The court heard that € 200 worth of damage was caused.

No compensation has been paid. Inspector Tom Kennedy said Mr Hall has 43 previous convictions.

Solicitor William Cahir said his client has suffered from serious alcohol and drug problems.

He said Mr Hall is a “gentlemen who is easily led.”

Mr Cahir said that Mr Hall is apologetic for his “mindless beahviour.”

Inspector Kennedy said Mr Hall’s activity had “caused an awful lot of difficulty” to gardaí in Kilrush.

Judge Durcan imposed a five-month sentence for criminal damage and a three-month concurrent sentence. The sentence was made retrospec tive to July.

THE awards continue to pour in for North Clare food producers and restaurants with four new accolades being won over the weekend.

St Tola’s Inagh Farmhouse Cheese was the toast of the 2012 Irish Cheese Awards winning a gold medal for the “St Tola Organic Log” and a silver medal for the “St Tola Ash Log”.

There was also celebration for two Ballyvaughan restaurants who both won gold medals at the prestigious Hotel and Catering Review Awards. L’Arco Italian Restaurant, operated by the Quinn Family in Ballyvaughan, picked up the Best Ethnic Restaurant award, while Stephen Spielberg’s favourite Irish restaurant, An Fear Gorta received the Gold Medal Award for Cafés and Tearooms.

Speaking after the cheese awards, Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith of St Tola said she was delighted that their cheeses were recognised.

“We are very happy to have won two Irish Cheese awards this year. It’s great that our classic log, now over 30 years in production, is still recognised as one of the finest cheeses in the country,” she said.

“We are also thrilled that our new cheese, St Tola with Ash, which has only been developed this year, is winning awards already! It’s a great boost for all the team back in Inagh and reflects that hard work and high standards of the whole company.”

The Irish Cheese Awards 2012 were judged by a panel that included Michelin starred chef Ross Lewis and celebrity chef Rozanne Steven. It was held with the support and assistance of Cáis and Sheridans Cheesemongers.