Home » Regional » Shannon (page 12)

Shannon

Final display by Shannon Apostolic Work Society

THE Shannon Apostolic Work Society held its final display at St Patrick’s Comprehensive last weekend. Mai Farrell was involved with the organisation right throughout its 33 year existence. “We started it in 1989, it was Father Pat Mulcahy who started us off actually, he was here in Shannon at that time.” Speaking about the activities over the years, she said, “We raised money for the missions, we made vestments, we did knitting and crochet, we got people to donate sacred vessels, which we would send to the Missions. They could be dedicated to the dead or the living, if they liked. We’ve done all of that over the years.” She says it doesn’t seem like 33 years since they first got started. “When you look back it seems like no length of time, but it is a long time.” While most of the work was done alone, the members still came together quite regularly. “Everybody worked at home, but we …

Read More »

Only 4% of air travellers in 2021 used Shannon Airport

FOUR percent of all passengers to Irish airports in 2021 went through Shannon, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. Obviously Covid-19 was very disruptive to aviation last year, making for a very strange year. Shannon’s 4% was ahead of Cork which had 3%, but Cork was closed for a couple of months due to works on its runway. Dublin was hugely dominant in terms of Irish aviation, with 90% of all passengers. Shannon had 322,162 passengers during the year, only one fifth of the 2019 figure, just before the pandemic. The figure was almost 50,000 ahead of 2020. Shannon dealt with 4,836 different flights over the course of the year. The three most used links with Shannon were all London airports. The busiest route was Stansted with 63,624 passengers, while 33,797 passengers travelled on the London Gatwick route and 24,050 on London Heathrow. The Heathrow services were significantly reduced in 2021 and the figure would presumably have been …

Read More »

Shannon Chamber assured by minister on work permit issue

IN light of the current labour market crisis, Shannon Chamber has sought answers on delays in securing work permits for non-EEA nationals. A request was made by members of Shannon Chamber’s HR Forum to meet with Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, to discuss labour market matters. Minister English was able to assure them that delays being experienced in the processing of employment permits for non-EEA nationals were being reduced. The meeting arranged through Deputy Joe Carey, which was held virtually, enabled Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes and members of the HR Forum to discuss these issues in person with Minister English and officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The minister acknowledged that the delays to employment permit processing times are not acceptable. He said, “We experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. “From the start of January to the end of …

Read More »

US veterans aged 85 and 80 go on trial for ‘criminal damage’ at Shannon Airport

Two American octogenarians have gone on trial accused of criminal damage and trespass at Shannon Airport on St Patricks Day three years ago, leading to the closure of a runway, writes Isabel Hayes. Ken Mayers (85) and Tarak Kauff (80), both with addresses in the US, are accused of damaging a perimeter fence before allegedly trespassing the lands of the Co Clare airport, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard this Monday. The pair, who were wearing high vis vests bearing the words ‘Veterans for Peace’, walked on to a taxiway at the airport, causing airport personnel to close the runway for a period of time, Tony McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting, told the jury. A plane which was due to land at the airport was unable to do so for the course of that warning, the court heard. Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff have each pleaded not guilty to three counts in relation to the alleged incident. Mr Mayers, of Monte Alte Road, …

Read More »

Shannon set for festive June with two events planned

SHANNON is set to see two festivals this June, one being organised by Damian O’Rourke of Cuppa Tea TV and the other by Chris Walshe of Hippo Sound and Lighting. The Shannon Summer Music Festival, which Chris is working on, will be a one-day event on June 11, while Damian’s one will be over the last week in June, and will be known as the Wings Festival. Both are being supported by Clare County Council and by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Speaking this week about the Shannon Music Festival, Chris said, “It’s taking place on June 11 in the Town Park. It’ll be taking place around the bandstand, early on there’ll be a family fun day with music, children’s entertainment, cultural performances. “In the evening then, from around 6pm onwards, there’ll be a main stage there where bands and local performers will take over, it’ll be live music for the rest of the evening.” …

Read More »

‘Children aren’t born to hate, they’re taught to hate’

THE murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee in Sligo horrified the country last week and the tragedies were marked by a vigil at the Town Park on Monday night. Councillor Donna McGettigan was one of those in attendance and she said her son Jamie, who is transgender, had been involved in organising it. “There wasn’t a huge turnout, but there was a nice, small crowd there on a Bank Holiday Easter Monday, it needed to be marked.” She said that it was very important that people show their revulsion at the killings. “Of course it was important to mark it. We had been out for Ashling Murphy as well and it’s important to show that we stand with the LGBTI+ community against homophobia and transphobia, to show that this kind of behaviour can’t go on. “On the night I said that children aren’t born to hate, they’re taught how to hate. As a community, as parents, as schools, we …

Read More »

Shannon Tidy Towns rallies troops for spring clean

THE Shannon Tidy Towns group is planning a significant clean-up of the town on Saturday, beginning at 11am at the bandstand in the Town Park. Secretary of the group Derek Clune said, “It’s part of the National Spring Clean that happens once a year, and in conjunction with that, we’re having it on April 23.” Explaining how it will work, Derek added, “What we do is we divide the town into zones. We meet at the Town Park, there’d usually be 40 or 50 people and we distribute them to the different zones. “You have the Drumgeely side, the centre of the town, the Town Park, the Tullyvarraga end and the Ballycasey side. “During the week then, obviously not on the Saturday, we bring the schools out, St Caimin’s and the Comp, and we normally do the River Walk with them, which gets them involved as well. “The Ukrainian people will be coming out as well on the 23rd, so …

Read More »

Breaking: 150-200 jobs to be created as Ryanair set to take Shannon hangar

SHANNON is set to receive a jobs boost with Ryanair about to do a deal to take on a hangar locally, with 150-200 jobs set to be created in aircraft maintenance and repair. It is understood that Shannon Group and Ryanair are on the brink of signing a contract under which Ryanair would take on the hangar, which had previously been used by Lufthansa, but has been vacant of late. Securing the business with Ryanair would be seen as a coup for Shannon Group, while the jobs to be created would largely be skilled and well paid. In recent years there has been a concerted effort to develop Shannon as a hub for aviation related companies, and there are now more than 80 of them in the area, with thousands employed.

Read More »