Regional

United Airlines has resumed its daily nonstop seasonal service between Shannon and New York/Newark for the first time since October 2019. The service is set to operate until October 29 2022 and departs daily at 12.30pm. Welcoming the restart of the New York/Newark service, Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Group said: “United Airlines is a very valued airline partner of Shannon, and we are delighted to welcome them back to our airport as they restore this vital transatlantic service. “With its hub status and onward connections, the Newark service is extremely important for our business passengers and is a key component of our transatlantic connectivity for our region and the broader west of Ireland.” “We are delighted to return to Shannon Airport in 2022 and resume nonstop services to the United States,” said Martina Coogan, United’s Sales Manager Ireland. “With the return of service to New York/Newark, our customers in the west of Ireland can take advantage of a direct …

Ukrainian refugees in Lisdoonvarna have implored the country’s ambassador to Ireland to send a message out to world leaders to stop the conflict now. Larysa Gerasko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland was in Lisdoonvarna on Saturday and met many of the 500 refugees, who have been living in the village for the past number of weeks. In total there are nearly 1000 Ukrainian people living in North and West Clare. Marcus White, owner of the Hydro hotel, said that there were emotional scenes, as the Ukrainian people, along with members of the local community met the ambassador at the Pavilion theatre. “They delivered a strong message to Ms Gerasko, which was to call on world leaders to bring in a ceasefire and stop the senseless conflict now, before any more men, women and children from either side lose their lives.” he said. “Our message is not only addressed to Europe but to all world leaders in the countries, like India, …

CONGESTION during peak traffic periods on the Tulla Road and Gort Road areas of Ennis could be significantly eased with the completion of the Ennis North Inner Relief Road, according to Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara. Deputy McNamara has written to Clare County Council urging the Local Authority to revisit the proposal to link the roads, which he said would divert traffic away from the centre of Ennis and the Fair Green area and improve general traffic flow on the northern and eastern sides of the town. “It was originally intended that the Inner Relief Road would link the R458 Gort Road to Oakleigh Wood and The Maples Distributor Road and onwards to the Cappahard and Roslevan Roundabouts on the R352 Tulla Road,” he explained. “However, no progress has been made since 2018 when Phase One of the project, comprising a 520m road link from the Gort Road to the Clare Technology Park, was officially opened.” “While the Council has …

NEWS of the return of the Scariff Harbour Festival has been widely welcomed, after the pandemic forced its cancellation for the last two years.  The event will from July 29 to 31, and is set to be a major highlight on the county’s festival calendar. Organisers said they are still considering the impact that Covid may have on this summer’s event, but are promising a lively weekend that will showcase the rich heritage and culture of the area.  The Sunday night concert act has been confirmed as the Kilfenora Céilí Band. They make a very welcome return to East Clare have brought the town alive with music and dance during previous festivals.  Over the years, the annual event has brought a wealth of talent to Scariff and its environs and provided a forum for reflection on wider cultural and social issues. Details of the 2022 festival will be published on scariffharbourfestival.ie in the coming weeks and months. 

A LANDMARK crafts company in Tuamgraney has secured permission for a new apartment development which has been commended for its sensitivity to the local streetscape. The green light has been given to McKernan Woollen Mills Ltd, subject to six conditions. While planners were assessing the designs, they raised concerns about the impact on the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) in the scenic East Clare Village. Those concerns were allayed through Further Information (FI) supplied by McKernans. The revised designs were then commended by the Council’s Architectural Conservation Officer (ACO) as paying “homage to agricultural architecture of the surrounding hinterland”. The company lodged plans last June for conversion of an existing cottage into three self-contained apartments. In August, planners requested more details from the company, in relation to the potential impact on the character of the East Clare village. In their letter, planners said they had “serious concerns in relation to the overall design of the development and the impact of same …

THE early decommissioning of an ESB wind farm in South Galway could result in an overall taxpayer bill of up to €70 million, a local lobby group has claimed. Following a lump sum fine of €5 million and a daily fine of €15,000 plus legal costs imposed by the European Court of Justice ruling in November 2019, the Derrybrien Wind Farm has now incurred a bill of €17,845,7779 for the state. The penalties were levied after it found Ireland had failed to comply with a previous court ruling in relation to the wind farm where a landslide occurred during construction in 2003. David Murray from the South Galway Flood Relief Committee estimates when fines, early decommissioning accounting for a €10 million loss annually over the life time of the wind farm, consultants fees and resolution of turbary right are factored in, the final bill and loss of earnings could be in the region of €70 million. The ESB, through its …

MORE than €2,000 was collected in just one day at an Ennis secondary school as part of their ongoing efforts to raise funds in support of people in Ukraine. A number of teachers and students have organised a committee to discuss a number of fundraising initiatives to help with the Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal, including a non-uniform day which was held last Wednesday. The students showed their support for the Ukrainian people by wearing blue and yellow and contributing generously to the appeal. A video was shown to all classes in the school to create awareness of the humanitarian crisis and to remind the school community to help those who need it most with over €2,000 collected. The money will be donated to a sponsored local lorry fill organised by Eoin Gavin Transport Ukraine Appeal (Bunratty). The money will purchase essential food items from BWG Value Centre (formerly Mangans) and the lorry can be tracked on its journey across Europe. James …

TWO surfers had to be rescued after they got into difficulty off the Clare coast on Saturday evening. The alarm was raised at around 6.30pm when the Irish Coast Guard received an initial report that a person had been cut off by the tide and was trapped on a rock. The location was given as off Doughmore Beach close to the Trump International hotel in Doonbeg. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted a search and rescue operation. However, further information became available it was confirmed that two surfers had been caught in a riptide and pulled out to sea. The Kilkee and Doolin units of the Irish Coast Guard, National Ambulance Service and Gardaí were alerted and dispatched resources to the scene. The Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 was also tasked to the incident. As emergency were being mobilised, the Coast Guard broadcast a Pan-pan radio message …