East Clare

ADVENTURER Declan McEvoy is back on home ground for Christmas after completing the gruelling sixth stage of his round-the-world motorcycle odyssey.   In September, the Quin native set out from Lusaka in Zambia, with the aim of travelling along the West of the African continent, all the way to Dakar in Senegal. Last month, he reached Banjul in Gambia, after a marathon motorcycle trek. Throughout the epic African journey of more than 10,000km, Declan had been keeping friends, family and followers updated on WhatsApp. “Reaching Banjul could only be described as a surreal experience and if I’m to be honest I felt somewhat emotional on my arrival,” he said. “There had been times throughout this trip that I wondered if I’m ever going to make my planned destination, but for some reason it seems I just did. It takes more than determination and stubbornness, the latter apparently of which I have in abundance, to make such a journey through Africa …

CHRISTMAS at Oatfield in East Clare will see a double celebration, as the community marks the completion of works to restore the village’s famous Barn Church, which dates to the 1600s. The careful restoration, upgrading and development of what is believed to be the oldest church in the Killaloe Diocese, has taken almost a decade, and is the result of huge dedication on the part of the local community. Since 2013, thanks to intensive fundraising, essential repairs have been carried out on the protected structure. These include works on the doors, bell tower, storage building and foot-paths. Other work has been done on erecting piers and gates at the car park entrance, as well as the full refurbishment of the kneeling boards in the church. In 2020, local man Donal Ryan created and installed a replica of the original, historical altar, which was removed in the 1960s. In the last couple of weeks, with the completion by Lenihans contractors, of …

CONSTRUCTION work has started on a new €165,000 multi-use games amenity (MUGA) that will benefit from the proceeds of the Christmas Day Swim at Twomilegate, Killaloe. A Killaloe woman is one of the main drivers of a new MUGA near Boher National School, which will be fully accessible for people with disabilities and will be a major addition to recreational facilities in the Killaloe/Ballina area. Born in Ballyvalley, Killaloe, Nicola Welford is now living in Boher and is the chairperson of Boher Community Development Group, who are fundraising to complete the state-of-the-art MUGA. Their ambitious plans include introducing targeted programmes for groups with disabilities such as Autism, workshops on inclusive sport and training to help those who may find sporting activities difficult to master. The group has worked hard raising funds for different projects over the last two years. An allocation of almost €93,000 has been secured from Sports Capital funding as well as €20,000 from Tomar Trust. Up to …

A BID has been made to have the local authority take over a sewage treatment plan in Kilmurry so that lands in the village might not be dezoned for development. A motion was tabled by the Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District, Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, calling for the local authority to take over the plant for the Ballymulcashel housing estate. “I have talked to a builder,” he told the November district meeting. “Some years ago, a pilot project was undertaken and work done and a whole new system put in. The plant is brand new and fully funded. It is unfortunate that it is still in private ownership. We may need to take it on, or Irish Water won’t entertain it. In my view, it has to come into local authority ownership.” Councillor O’Callaghan explained that under national guidelines informing the forthcoming development plan, lands that will not be serviced in the lifetime of the plan, must be dezoned for …

FRUSTRATION has been expressed at the red tape that surrounds the process of reviewing and appealing speed limits. The point was made by Councillor Joe Cooney, at the end-of-year meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, that action is needed on the route between Tuamgraney and Killaloe. However, he described a Council response to his motion, calling for a speed limit change on the R463 from the Steiner Schools to Raheen Hospital, as disappointing. The response from Senior Executive Engineer Derek Troy outlined that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), rather than Clare County Council, is responsible for conducting reviews. It also outlined an appeals mechanism whereby individuals can make a case to a local appeals board. If they are not happy with the outcome, that can be referred to a regional panel and then back to an annual Council meeting for final approval. “I am not happy with the reply,” Councillor Cooney said. “We are all well aware of this section of …

WORKS on footpaths in Tulla are set to begin this month, with a significant improvement project for the junction of Main Street and Chapel Street likely to get underway in March of 2023. Councillors received the update in response to two motions which raised concerns over the condition of footpaths in the East Clare town. At their final meeting of the year, members of the Killaloe district were told that, in addition to the work funded through the Active Travel scheme, replacement and upgrading work will be carried out in the coming days at Lower O’Reilly Park.  Motions were tabled by Councillor Joe Cooney and by Cathaoirleach, Councillor Alan O’Callaghan at the November meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District. The latter told the meeting that the local Tidy Towns group had contacted all local councillors calling for an update on footpath works in the area.  Councillor Cooney welcomed the work done to-date on the Gort Road to link with the …

FLOODING concerns have prompted Clare County Council to seek Further Information (FI) from a company looking to build at 30-metre tower mast in the village of Quin.  Vantage Towers are making a second attempt to secure permission for the structure, after plans for a slightly smaller structure on a different site were turned down last year by both the Council and An Bórd Pleanála. The current application for a site at Quingardens is the subject of two objections and seven submissions of support, but County planners have now voiced their own concerns. The Council has given Vantage Towers six months to respond to three issues of concern: flood risk, the potential impact on bat habitats, and the access route to the site. In a letter requesting FI, the Council has noted that the site is located in an area identified in the County Development Plan as ‘Flood Zone A’. “Past flood events in the locality have come within 60m of …

“TOTALLY ridiculous” speed limits on rural roads have been strongly condemned by members of the Killaloe district, after a recent road incident recently in Mountshannon. Tabling a motion at the final district meeting of 2022, Councillor Pat Burke said people unfamiliar with rural roads needed to be alerted to the fact that the 80kmph speed limit is not appropriate. The Fine Gael member called for a review of all speed limits on local and minor roads and said the current 80kmph signs should be removed because of the confusion they are causing.  “All of us are familiar with 80kmph signs on local roads and boreens,” he said. “Heading down a boreen at 80km per hour, for the ordinary Joe Soap, that has never made sense at all. In some places on national roads, when you’re leaving to go down a local road, the sign is different and this is an indication to drive slower.” Senior Executive Engineer Derek Troy explained …