Category: News

IRISH shoppers are clearly gasping for a taste of Clare after water produced and bottled in the Banner County became the best-selling product of its kind at one of Ireland’s largest retail stores.

Clare Spring Water, which directly employs 15 people and a further 11 through sales, was set up in 2009. Managing Director, Paul Connellan told a meeting in Ennis last week that Clare Spring had become a bestseller at Dunnes Stores over the past 12 months.

Mr Connellan recalled the company’s success at a meeting organised by the Clare branch of Network Ireland. Mr Connellan said that LEADER funding of € 200,000, secured through the Clare Local Research Company, had been hugely important in the establishment of Clare Spring Water.

Mr Connellan said the company, which produces water at its € 4.2 million plant in High Street, Lissycasey, has sought to ensure its competitiveness through careful control of costs and efficient waste management.

The company made history last year by becoming the first ever to produce a biodegradable plastic bottle, an innovation that helped it win an annual contract to supply 14 million bottles of natural spring water Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.

He said that research into the area of plant-based plastics had led to the development of the biodegradable bottle. He added that the Schipol contract had given “tremendous confidence” to the company, which also exports bottled water to the UK. He said, “Foreign markets are interested in what’s evolving and changing and innovative”. Mr Connellan said the company had received a “lot of goodwill and local support”.

THE SHANNON chess club will represent the county in the All-Ireland championships in Athlone this weekend.

The club sealed entry to the finals in both the under-12 and under-16 events, having won the Munster finals. The under-12s defeated Ahane from Limerick in their final, while the under-16 team overcome Crecora from Limerick in their decider. A panel of 14 players will visit Athlone to take part in the finals.

Last year, the club finished in third place in the All-Ireland under-16 final and hopes to add to the success this year.

“We are hoping to do a bit better this year,” said coach Stephen Danagher.

There is a huge interest in chess in the Shannon area and the club has won dozens of competitions in recent years.

There are almost 30 members of the club in Shannon and they play at the library every Friday evening.

“There is a great interest in it and there is a great facility in the Shannon library. They enjoy it. Success breeds success. We have won quite a bit every year. When the children get a few medals and trophies, they are thrilled with it,” said Stephen, who set up the club more than 12 years ago.

“We are lucky in Shannon to have such a diverse population. Our culture doesn’t promote chess as much as the Indians and the Eastern Europeans and there is an influx of both in Shannon,” he added. The Danagher name will be prominent over the weekend. Stephen’s son James is the captain of the under-16 team, while his daughter Jessica is on the under12 team. Stephen has been interested in chess for many years.

“I played it going to school and I played it in the army. It is very addictive,” he said.

The local community in Shannon has been hugely supportive of the team’s efforts. They helped out with a fundraising flag day, while the local community games club has also contributed to the fund. The town council has also supported the club over the years.

“We are grateful to the people of Shannon for their support. The money raised from a flag day two weeks ago helped to buy t-shirts for the AllIreland,” added Stephen.

A “HANDFUL” of sites in the Ennis area have been identified for a potential new town library.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council sought expressions of interest from the public in their efforts to identify a site/existing completed building for the re-development of the main public library and head quarters for Clare library service in Ennis.

The council was looking for a site of 1,600-1,800sq metres or alternatively an existing building with a floor area of up to 4,000 sq metres.

Speaking last week, County Librarian, Helen Walsh said there had been a good response to the appeal. “We wanted to see what was out there. We didn’t want to be overloaded so that’s why we were specific in the notice.”

She explained that any new site would have to meet a specific set of requirements in order to secure government funding. A new site, she said, would have to be in close proximity to local schools; be located in Ennis town centre and have sufficient space for parking. She said that a “handful” of sites have emerged and will now be further examined.

The current De Valera library building has been in use since 1973 but is now considered too small for the population of the town.

Ms Walsh said that the “size and history of Ennis demands that it have a good civic building”.

She added, “Some of the library buildings that have been built up and down the country over the past few years have been fantastic, award standard. That’s the kind of building we would be looking at. It would have to be a building for the future.”

Ms Walsh said that a site would have to be acquired before any approach could be made to the Department of Environment for funding.

She explained, “Any big capital projects like that, they would have to be built within a year. There could be no overrun into the next budget.”

The Post Office field had previously been identified as a potential site for a new library building. However, Ms Walsh said that the field “did not present as a site this time around”.

A NEW initiative aimed at creating links between new Clare businesses and some of the country’s top research and development centres has gotten underway in Ennis.

Local authorities in Clare, Shannon Development and the west of Ireland’s two largest universities have teamed up to found the Ennis Inno- vation Centre.

Speaking last Thursday, Majella McNamara of Clare County Council’s Economic Development Unit said the centre had been set up to “help Clare-based businesses to access support in universities”.

She told a meeting of the Clare branch of Network Ireland that the centre has been opened to fill the gap created by the absence of a major third-level institution in Clare. She said that small businesses are often unsure how to avail of expertise offered by third-level institutions.

Modeled on the system of university transfer technology offices, the centre will help commercialise businesses ideas and encourage innovation, Ms McNamara said. She explained that the regional innovation centre offers start-up companies training and mentoring, expertise in business areas, linkages to academic institutions, technology transfer expertise and supported applications to development bodies. Ms McNamara said that while it isn’t the role of local authorities to directly create employment, it is their role to “facilitate job creation in Clare”.

The Innovation Centre is based at the Ennis Information Age Park on the Gort road and is overseen by recently appointed director, Gert O’Rourke. Ms O’Rourke has a background in training and consultancy and is the founder of Gert O’Rourke training and development. The centre is a joint initiative between Shannon Development, Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council, National University of Ireland, Galway and University of Limerick.

THE Irish tourism industry is being strangled by the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system preventing the creation of thousands of jobs in the sector, the Director of the Shannon College of Hotel Management, Mr Philip J. Smyth has said.

In his keynote address at the 60th anniversary of the college last Friday, Mr Smyth said that Sunday trading has become a “write off” for many operators in the industry because of the JLC. Under the JLC, minimum terms and conditions of employment in the catering sector above and beyond the national minimum wage are set, including premium payment for weekend and overtime work.

He said that Shannon College is the only third-level college/institute in Ireland with a 100 per cent graduate employment rate. “The concept of having to protect workers in the tourism sector is outdated and the sooner we abolish the JLC, the sooner we will begin creating jobs and fulfilling the enormous potential of the industry,” he said.

Mr Smyth told the gathering of over 200 guests that the prospects for growth in the industry are being hampered by a lack of national pride in service delivery. “As a population, we do not have a sense of service to match our wonderful sense of hospitality,” he said.

Congratulating the Shannon College of Hotel Management – a subsidiary of the Dublin Airport Authority – on its 60th anniversary, Director of Shannon Airport, Ms Mary Considine said its dedication to excellence has been nothing short of remarkable and that the college “has made an enormous contribution to the hotel industry here in Ireland and, indeed, globally”.

“To think that today, in such a challenging global economy, graduates from the college not only enjoy a 100% employment rate but are essentially headhunted by some of the world’s leading hotel groups speaks volumes for the standards that the college continues to deliver,” she said.

Since the first class of 18 students joined Shannon College in 1951, the college has grown to accept 100 students each year. It now offers two level 8 degree programmes (BBS and BComm) in business studies and international hotel management. It currently has 400 students enrolled, 200 of them Irish and the other half from 25 countries across the globe. Current students are undertaking professional work placements in 100 hotels across 16 countries worldwide.

TRADERS and local food producers have given the thumbs up to a new market bazaar, which opened in Ennis earlier this month.

Local craft makers, growers, artists and musicians have been making use of Ennis’ newest trading area, which operates on Fridays and Saturdays at Cronin’s yard in the town centre.

Speaking at the market’s opening day, organiser Ann Cronin said the venture is aimed at supporting small local businesses. She explained that 60 per cent of the goods sold by traders must be made in Clare.

She said, “It’s been good fun. We have a nice mix of things, a nice mix of people. There are crafty, creative types. We’re looking at about 16 a day. So we’re trying to get the full compliment. We’ve had lots of people in, people coming in having a gawk and wondering what it is. It’s great that people are curious about new things still”.

She continued, “Traders book beforehand, that way we can guarantee them a space. Sixty per cent of the stuff has to be made in Clare so we try and support indigenous and small companies rather than having an extension of the outside market.”

One of those happy to take a stall in the bazaar is baker Tess Jones. Tess, who runs Perfection Bakery from her home in Morrissey Avenue, Cloughleigh, said markets are a cost-effective way for small businesses to get their product to consumers.

She said, “I think it’s absolutely fantastic. The town is dying a death. Landlords are charging too much rent. Businesses are closing down all over the place. This is the opportunity for someone with a good idea to get it out there with a minimum outlay. So it’s a really good idea.”

She added, “We’re all very enthusiastic. We seem to be getting a lot of interest. Not that many people know about it. Ennis is small town so its very much world of mouth, which obviously will come into play as the weeks go on”

She said, “I’m just baking from home at the moment. This is my first ever market. It’s going pretty well. There seems to be a lot of interest. Everyone likes my product and that’s the main thing.”

A FARMER who was verbally abusive to a garda and told her ‘you won’t take my land’ has been handed a one month suspended sentence.

Ger Neylon (50), whom the court heard has an address at Main Street, Tulla, appeared at Shannon District Court (sitting in Ennis) on Thursday.

Mr Neylon was charged with public order offences arising out of an incident at Sixmilebridge on April 22 (2010).

Insp Tom Kennedy said the accused was in an intoxicated state when he was noticed by a garda.

Insp Kennedy said that he became verbally abusive to the garda, to such an extent that he was arrested. He said that the man told the Garda that “you won’t take my land, you c***”.

Insp Kennedy said that Mr Neylon repeated the comments to the garda. The court heard that Mr Neylon is a single man, who has 57 acres of land, but is in receipt of farm assist payments.

Solictor for the man, Jenny Fitzgib- bon, made an application on behalf of her client for free legal aid.

She said that her client had been on the way home from a wedding in Limerick and had received a lift as far as Sixmilebridge. She said that it had been his intention to hitch back to Tulla.

She said it had been a ‘“long wedding’ and that her client could not recall the incident in Sixmilebridge. She said he realised that this is no excuse and that he wished to completely apologise.

Mr Neylon said, “I’m sorry. I apologise.”

Judge Joseph Mangan refused the application for free legal aid, saying that the man owned 57 acres of land.

He said the accused had missed a previous court date and now expected the state to pay his legal bills.

He said he was not impressed by the man’s behaviour, adding the comments, as described by Insp Kennedy, “speak for themselves”.

He handed down a one month suspended sentence and ordered that the accused enter a bond to be of good behaviour.

SIXMILBRIDGE is awash with comhrá this week, with everyone sporting badges that announce they have ‘cúpla focal’. This pride in the Irish language comes after the village became the only one in Clare to get through to the next round of the TG4 ‘G-Team’ competition.

Now, the village is in with a strong chance of winning the prize – € 40,000 to spend in promoting their area.

The badges – which declare ‘Tá cupla focal agam’ – have been distributed in shops; a trad music session ‘as Gaeilge’ has been organised; and the local bistro, The Miller’s Loft, is even changing its name to an Irish version in honour of the event.

‘The G-Team’ is a new 10-part television series on TG4 that will feature non-Irish speaking communities from all over the country. The challenge is for these communities to begin using their native tongue in their daily routines.

Film crews descended on the East Clare village a week ago and filmed local people doing their shopping, ordering pints and having business meetings in Irish. Diners in the bistro were filmed enjoying their meals, having ordered them as Gaeilge.

The G-Team winners 2011 win a € 40,000 prize, sponsored by Foras na Gaeilge, to use in promoting their local area.

There was absolute delight at a meeting to announce that Sixmilebridge has become the only village in Clare to qualify.

Speaking at the Irish-speaking trad session and the launch of the badge at the weekend, Brendan Walsh of the Sixmilebrideg Folk Club said, “There is fantastic excitement in the village about the whole thing. They’re really grabbing this and running with.

“There are all kinds of plans coming up. The aim is to involve every organisation in the village, and there are plenty of them.”

TG4 has appointed a mentor to help the Sixmilebridge residents to co-ordinate their next steps in the competition.

Film crews will be arriving to film at intervals and watch the progress of expanding the amount of Irish that people in the community use in their everyday lives.

A ROMANIAN brother and sister who were caught with 25,000 cigarettes between them at Shannon Airport almost two years ago have been fined. Dafina Danila and Eugen Danila both with addresses at Lower Sherrod Street, Dublin 1 appeared at Shannon District Court on Thursday, charged with offences contrary to the Finance Act (2001).

The court was told that Ms Danila was stopped at Shannon Airport on November 7, 2009, with 13,800 cigarettes in her possession. The value of the cigarettes was € 5763.57. The court heard that the offences carry a fine and potential prison sentence.

Mr Danila was charged with having 12,200 cigarettes in his possession on the same date at Shannon Airport. The value of the cigarettes was € 5095.33.

The court was told that the maximum number of cigarettes allowed to a person returning from Tenerife is 250. The pair, who have no previous offences, were on their way back from Tenerife. State Solicitor, Martin Linnane, told the court that Ms Dafina has said that the cigarettes were for personal use. He said that in order for one person to consume over 13,000 cigarettes for personal use, they would have to smoke around 36 cigarettes every day for a year. Judge Joseph Mangan remarked that you would need a “spare chimney to get through that (amount) in a year”.

Judge Mangan said that a person who is returning from holiday may bring back a “moderate” amount of cigarettes for personal use.

However he added that there are other times when a person brings back cigarettes for the purposes of a more sinister application. Mr Linnane said he was not aware that this was the case. Judge Mangan imposed a fine of € 350.

THE former Two Mile Inn in Meelick, which closed in September of last year, has been bought with a view to re-opening it as a nursing home, The Clare People has learned.

The move would bring a substantial number of new jobs to the area.

Those directly involved with the sale were remaining tight-lipped about the detail, but sources in Meelick have confirmed that the plans are to have a state-of-the-art nursing home development on the site.

Tom Crosse of GVM autioneers in Limerick, who handled the sale, would say only that the property had been bought in trust by a firm of so- licitors, and that he understands there possibly may be plans to look at reopening as a nursing home.

The auctioneer would not comment on the purchase price but other sources have put the sale price in the region of € 1.25 million.

It’s not known when work might start on the new home. However, the property would be an ideal location for such a venture, with ample accomodation possibilities and car parking facilities.

The price tag on the value of the once popular hotel plummeted by € 6 million, from more than € 7 million, in the 12 months before it closed. There had ben interest previously but no deal emerged.

When the Two Mile Inn finally shut its doors, 15 full-time staff lost their jobs but many more than that would have been employed when the hotel was at its peak.

A series of efforts were made to find a buyer before Price Waterhouse Coopers put it on the market through GVM at a reduced price tag last November and invited tenders.

It is understood that the sale attracted considerable interest when the lower price tag was revealed.

One of Limerick’s longest-established hotels, the Two Mile Inn was built by Tom Ryan and later taken over by local hotelier Brendan Dunne in the mid-1970s.

In October 2008, Billy O’Riordan of PriceWaterhouseCoopers was appointed as receiver and he placed the hotel on the market as a going concern.

At the time, the price being sought was in the region of € 7 million. However, two years later, when a buyer could not be found, the asking price was slashed to € 1.2 million.

At the time, Mr Crosse described this as a “giveaway price” for such a substantial, high-profile property.

The property features 123 bedrooms, a bar/restaurant area and conferencing facilities as well as extensive car parking space. It occupies an 11-acre site on the Ennis dual carriageway, with easy access to Ennis, Shannon and Limerick city.