Regional

WORK has begun to construct a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kilrush which will end the discharge of raw sewage into the Shannon Estuary. The project being delivered by EPS Group on behalf of Irish Water and Clare County Council is expected to take 18 months and is due for completion in 2023 It involves the construction of a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and sewer pipelines that will serve a population equivalent of approximately 6,700. The pumping station on Frances Street will also upgrade its pumps, mechanical plant and a storm water storage tank. Speaking on-site, Esther White from Irish Water said “Wastewater from the public sewer network in Kilrush is currently discharged untreated into the estuary. “This unacceptable practice threatens water quality, detracts from the amenity value of the area and does not comply with EU regulations relating to the treatment of wastewater. “Providing improved wastewater treatment for Kilrush will enhance the environmental amenity and protect the waters of …

THE Zimmer Biomet team in Shannon and Galway rowed and cycled the equivalent distance of Ireland to Beijing to raise over €20,000 to support sick children, writes Owen Ryan. The company’s contribution will benefit BUMBLEance, an Irish charity devoted to transporting extremely ill children or children with life limiting illnesses to their hospital appointments. This latest fundraiser forms part of an ongoing partnership with BUMBLEance and the Zimmer Biomet team. Prior to the pandemic, the team traditionally completed an annual fundraising cycle from its plant in Shannon to its sister site in Galway. However, this year, in response to COVID restrictions, the team decided to cycle or row approximately 15,000kms, equating to the average distance travelled by the BUMBLEance fleet in Ireland each week. Observing social distancing, the cycling and rowing activities were safely completed either at the employees’ homes or within the company’s plants in Shannon and Galway with all funds raised matched by the company. Brian Conlan, CEO …

CLARECASTLE tenor Dean Power will be among those performing at a special concert next month to celebrate James Joyce’s 140th birthday and the centenary of the publication of Ulysses. The concert on February 1  in the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire will feature for the first time in Ireland, Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer’s settings of Joyce’s Chamber Music. As well as Dean’s singing, the performance will also feature Mairéad Hurley on piano and Susie Kennedy as the narrator. In 1907, the year of its publication, Palmer wrote to Joyce asking permission to set some poems from Chamber Music. Joyce enthusiastically received the ten songs he was sent and wrote, “I hope you will set all of Chamber Music in time” and “I shall be glad to hear from you and to know that your delicate music is meeting at last with the appreciation it deserves” Joyce tried to arrange publication of the songs on several occasions but Palmer was hesitant and it never happened. The reason for …

THE developers behind a proposed gated community for older people in the heart of Ennis’ town centre have scaled back their initial plans after concerns were raised by the local authority. According to documents lodged with the planning authority, if given the go-ahead the units on Upper O’Connell Street will be managed by D Madigan Properties Ltd and discussions have been held with both the Peter McVerry Group and Cluid Housing about their long-term lease. A planning application lodged by Alan Cummins Ltd had originally sought to construct a two-storey building incorporating six one-bedroom apartments, and a single storey building incorporating six storage sheds to be used in conjunction with the apartments at Upper O’Connell Street. However, these plans have now been reduced to a proposed one-storey building with three one-bed apartments. This comes after Clare County Council sought further information from the developers after highlighting “serious concerns” in relation to the proposed development’s design and its relationship with the …

LOCAL Councillors gave their backing to the Shannon Town Masterplan at a meeting this week. The masterplan has provoked a lot of local discussion in recent months, and was the subject of many submissions from the public after the initial draft became public. At Tuesday’s meeting director of services Liam Conneally said that there are two aspects to delivering the plan, one being statutory and one related to funding. He said that the plan will yet have to be incorporated into a review of the County Development Plan. Regarding funding, he said that Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage ahd rejected an application for URDF funding for the Venue development, due to concerns about the location and with making a significant State investment without the masterplan being completed. “The Masterplan is now nearing completion and a new funding application will be made to the Department in 2022,” he added. He said that the Department are anxious that an application …

THE notorious Brennan’s Cross in Meelick is an “accident waiting to happen”, a local Dáil Deputy has claimed. Deputy Joe Carey has called on Clare County Council to realign Brennan’s Cross in the interest of road safety as well as providing public lighting, footpaths and infrastructure from the Knockalisheen Centre back into Meelick. The Fine Gael Deputy has made representations to the council for road improvement works in Meelick following a recent visit to the area with Councillor John Crowe. Several residents had been in touch with Deputy Carey in relation to the dangers posed to pedestrians, cyclist and motorist using both Brennan’s Cross and the Knockalisheen Road. Deputy Carey warned these issues will be exacerbated when the new road linking Coonagh to the Knockalisheen Road, which is currently under construction as part of Phase One of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road, is open to traffic. “It’s my understanding that a section of the Knockalisheen Road is planned to close …

AFTER five decades of reporting the news from Inagh, Flan Garvey has handed on the mantle of notes correspondent and is just beginning a well-earned retirement.  A retired school principal, Flan has been at the heart of local news and notes for almost 50 years. He was Inagh’s very first notes correspondent, after spotting a gap in The Clare Champion’s coverage in the early 1970s.  “I was a very young, enthusiastic teacher in the parish and joined the staff of Gortbofarna National School in 1965,” he outlined. “In 1973, I started at the national school Inagh and was there until I retired. I was an avid reader of The Champion and noticed that some areas had notes and details of local events. I approached Frank O’Dea, the editor at the time and Flan Galvin, the owner, with a view to starting the Inagh notes. They said, ‘Yes, by all means’ and it took off from there. I suppose I wanted …

WORK has finished on a new documentary on the death of North Clare woman Emer O’Loughlin, which will be broadcast on TG4 in May. A talented artist, Emer was 23 years of age when her body was discovered in a burnt out mobile home at Ballybornagh, Tubber on April 8, 2005. Subsequent forensic tests showed that she was murdered. Seventeen years on there still has not been a conviction. A man named John Griffin, who lived close to Emer and her partner, is someone that Gardai wish to speak to about the matter. Following an incident on Inis Mór shortly after her death, he was taken into custody by Gardai, and subsequently brought into psychiatric care in Ballinasloe. However, he was allowed to leave a few days later, went back to the Aran Islands and is thought to have attempted to fake his own death there. He is subsequently known to have travelled from London to Germany. Gardai believe he …