Regional

EXTRA information is being sought by Council planners on an application for 16 new homes in the village of Quin. Abbey View Quin Property Development Ltd applied last November for the homes on a site of around one hectare which spans Maigh Dara and Ballyhannon North. The application also requests permission to amend an access road and ancillary services granted in 2017. It seeks permission too for a temporary access route from the public road at Ballyhannon North. This is for building purposes only, in order to avoid having machinery accessing the site through the existing Maigh Dara estate.  In a letter sent to the developer on January 19, planners sought Further Information (FI) on nine aspects of the plans. Given the proximity of the site to the Poulnagordon Cave and Old Domestic Buildings Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), the developer has been instructed to carry out a screening assessment to determine the potential impact. This document must include a …

A PEDESTRIAN crossing on the Gort Road has been described as “a death trap at times” as calls were made for improved safety measures to be put in place to protect vulnerable road users. A recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard a local primary school has highlighted concerns about the crossing. According to Councillor Mary Howard there have been a number of “near misses” of vulnerable road users at the pedestrian crossing at Hogan’s Shop on the Gort Road in front of Glenina and Pine Grove estates. She asked the council, “Is it possible to upgrade this crossing to make it more visible to traffic to ensure the safety of users?” Responding to the motion Paddy Tiernan, acting senior executive engineer, stated that the Ennis Municipal District “commits to reviewing this pedestrian crossing and will investigate measures to improve the visibility of the crossing. “Branches of trees which impact the visibility of the crossing will be trimmed back. …

CONCERTS are back on the musical menu in Sixmilebridge, with the unveiling of a new schedule by the Sixmilebridge Folk Club. Renowned for organising the very successful annual Shannonside Winter Music Festival and a calendar of eclectic concerts throughout the year, the activities of the folk club were adversely affected by the pandemic and the sound of music in the village was temporarily silenced. All that is set to change as the committee has regrouped, and while it is not currently feasible to resurrect the festival in its past form, priority is being given to organising a series of concerts in Gleeson’s Bar in Sixmilebridge over the coming months. The first of these will take place on Friday, February 10 at 8pm. This concert will feature Brian Donnellan and Michael Landers and will be led by fiddle player Mark Donnellan from Kilmurry, who picked up his music from his father Francie, one of the original members of the Tulla Céilí Band. Mark has played …

THE transformation of Ennis’ Abbey Street Carpark into a retail and office space is set to be the first project to be delivered under the Ennis 2040 plan it has been revealed. The proposed re-development, if given the green light, is expected to create hundreds of jobs and draw thousands of shoppers into Ennis’ town centre. A planning application for Abbey Street is to be lodged by the middle of this year, the Ennis Designated Activity Company (DAC) have confirmed. The Ennis 2040 DAC say the proposed project would result in 100 permanent jobs once complete and 200 jobs during construction, and create a town centre footfall of 20,000 shoppers a week. COO of Ennis 2040 Kevin Corrigan said that, “The Ennis 2040 team and Clare County Council are working hard to deliver on the vision of a vibrant and sustainable town centre for future generations. Ennis 2040 will be commencing extensive public consultations on the proposed town centre projects …

The Really Truly Joyful Ennis Gospel Choir are on song for a post Covid return. The popular choir are relaunching their programme and they are currently recruiting new members. The choir will be holding an open night on Thursday, February 9 at 7.30pm in the Chapel Lane Community Hall in Ennis. There are no formal auditions as such required to join the choir, but you do need to have a basic singing ability and a willingness to sing. “If you’ve ever wanted to join a choir, make new friends and have a bit of fun through the medium of music, then we are the group for you,” says director Fiona Walsh. “There’s no formal audition, just come along to our open night. We are quite a friendly, inclusive bunch, exuding enthusiasm and joy wherever we go ……and that’s why we’re called the Really Truly Joyful Ennis Gospel Choir. This spring we are developing a show that we plan to take …

CLARE musicians have banded together to show their support for the Irish Red Cross’ ongoing humanitarian work in Ukraine. A fundraising night of music has been organised in Ennis with performances by Isolated Frequency, U Can Dance and Patrick Roche along with some special guests. The event, in Treacy’s West County Hotel, will take place on Friday, February 10 starting at 9pm with people urged put on their dancing shows and enjoy a night of music while supporting a worthy cause. The fundraiser has been organised by a committee including Nigel Devine, Steve Flaherty, Katie Devine, Mayor of Ennis Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy and Deputy Mayor Councillor Mary Howard. Nigel tells us they were moved to do something having seen the effects the war has had on the people of Ukraine. “We have all seen the pictures on TV and how the whole world has been affected by what is going on in Ukraine. It’s always the innocent that suffer. …

GENERATIONS of students and the wider community will benefit for years to come, thanks to an ambitious project to invest €250,000 in an astroturf facility at St Joseph’s National School, Miltown Malbay. An information and fundraising campaign for an all-weather pitch will be launched at the school at 2pm on Friday (February 3). The event will showcase the multiple benefits for pupils, local clubs and sporting organisations, as well as the Miltown community as a whole.  Principal of the 113-pupil school, Mr Aidan Looney said that while significant work had been done on the school building over the years, the outdoor facilities were in need of an upgrade. “Part of the school building dates to 1963 and the second phase was done in 1973,” he outlined. “In 2008, I secured funding for an indoor refurbishment, but there has been no real development of the outdoor playing facilities in all of that time.” Thanks to a funding boost of €50,000 from …

A NEW arts collective in Gort is celebrating the nation’s latest Bank Holiday with a series of events in the town. Gort Arts Collective is hosting a series of events to celebrate the new St. Brigid’s bank holiday between February 4 and 5 with events including a procession, an outdoor large-scale projection onto the town’s courthouse, an art exhibition, and theatre performances. The Gort Arts Collective, a group of 40 artists who work in a variety of art forms: painting, sculpture, the written word, and filmmaking aims to bring the community together to celebrate old traditions and create new ones through the medium of the arts. Noreen Scully from the group said, “Ours is an old Irish market town that enjoys a rich and diverse cultural community – and it’s important for everyone in the town to feel that they belong. “The arts are a great way to do this and Brigid is the perfect opportunity. Brigid was a saint, …