Shannon

Shannon Airport has pledged its support to farmers battling the current fodder crisis by offering to repeat its intervention of 2013 when it harvested silage from its 400 acre site. The Airport’s operations team will meet with farm representatives over the coming days to explore the need to fast-track cutting of grass on the airport grounds in light of the severe difficulties faced by many farmers due to the prolonged inclement winter and spring weather. The airport’s grass husbandry programme is not due to see any grass inside the airport perimeter cut until later in the summer, but in light of the shortages, the airport is offering to bring it forward to support local farmers. Five years ago, in late April, farmers received 1,600 bales of silage from the airport in what was then the most severe fodder crisis in living memory. Airport operations director Niall Maloney said,“Farmers were in difficulty back then and, having seen just how important our …

FOLLOWING the death of Winnie Mandela on Easter Monday, former airport police officer John O’Halloran recalled a stopover she made at Shannon Airport in 1990. It was shortly after her husband’s release from 27 years of imprisonment, and the visit was quite unexpected. “At the time this photo was taken she was due to come to Ireland about a month later on an official visit,” says John. He ended up with the first photos of Mrs Mandela taken here with her husband. “He [Nelson Mandela] was on a tour of a handful of nations around the world. He had gone from Johannesburg, arrived in Rome, stayed there for a while and he was going to Ottowa in Canada. “On the way they were running low on fuel and they diverted into Shannon unexpectedly. On the day I was in charge of Airport Police and I didn’t call anyone in, we looked after them while they were there.” John added, “She …

Members of the Emergency Response Unit, Regional Armed Support Unit and Garda Air Support Unit as well as the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit were involved in a simulated anti-terrorism training exercise at Shannon Airport this Tuesday morning. The staged event saw the airport being stormed by an armed group, calling themselves the Doomsday Cult. During the simulated attack, the terrorist group fired blank rounds of ammunition at trainee gardaí who were acting as passengers in the departures lounge of Shannon Airport. As the exercise progressed it triggered a coordinated armed response from members of the Garda Air Support Unit, the Defence Forces, the naval service, the air corps, the EOD, and Shannon Airport personnel . The situation then moved to a hostage negotiation scenario where a tactical team was deployed to reason with the terrorist group and recover the hostages. The exercise was staged at Shannon Airport between 2.30pm and 4pm on Tuesday and involved upwards of 130 individuals. The …

A 19 year-old arrested by gardaí in their investigation into a fatal stabbing at a Shannon night club at the weekend has been released without charge. Gardaí say a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions for his consideration. Employees at the Shannon Knights night club have been interviewed by gardaí while CCTV footage has also been examined to determine the sequence of events which led to the 23 year-old man being fatally stabbed. The dead man has been named as Jamie Higgins from Mungret in Limerick city. He is a past pupil of Crescent Comprehensive School in Dooradoyle and was a noted rugby and soccer player. He celebrated his 23rd birthday only last month. Another man injured during this incident is still being treated at University Hospital Limerick. However his injuries are not life threatening. An altercation took place between a number of males at the night club and two males were injured and taken …

Gardaí in Shannon are questioning a teenager following a fatal stabbing outside The Shannon Knights in the town centre last night. The 23-year-old man was stabbed after an altercation took place between a number of men at the night club around 3am. Two men were injured in the row and taken to University Hospital Limerick. One was subsequently pronounced dead in the hospital a short time later while the second man, a 22-year-old, sustained injuries not believed to be life threatening. A 19-year-old man was arrested a short time later and detained at Shannon Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. A post mortem will take place later today at University Hospital Limerick. Gardaí in Shannon are appealing for witnesses and, in particular, would like to speak with anyone who was in the Shannon Knights nightclub last night. They can contact them in Shannon on 061-365900, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station.

Colm Galvin returns to the Clare starting line up for Sunday’s eagerly awaited Allianz hurling league quarter final clash with arch rivals Limerick. Absent for last week’s meeting with Waterford having suffered a back injury in the loss to Wexford, Galvin has been passed fit and will resume his partnership with Tony Kelly in midfield. Cathal Malone moves from midfield to wing forward and Galvin’s younger brother Ian drops down to the substitutes bench. This is the only change to the starting line up from that which faced Waterford in Walsh Park last Sunday. The team is Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) Conor Cleary (Miltown St. Josephs), Jack Browne (Ballyea); Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge), David McInerney (Tulla), David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Tony Kelly (Ballyea); Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge), John Conlon (Clonlara), David Reidy (Éire Óg); Conor McGrath (Cratloe), Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) Subs: Andrew Fahy (Whitegate), Mikey O’Malley (Kilmaley), Ian Galvin (Clonlara), Cathal McInerney (Cratloe), Daragh …

WITH Clare and Limerick due to meet in the last round of the new-look Munster Hurling Championship in June, it will add an “extra bit of interest” to Sunday’s National Hurling League quarter-final encounter, according to selector, Jimmy Browne. The Clonlara man is well familiar with Limerick, as he is vice-president of Corporate Services and Capital Development at LIT and has spent a number of years as team manager with Monaleen. He has also been involved with the coaching of Harty Cup squads at Ard Scoil Rís and amongst his backroom team was Limerick man Liam Cronin, who is now part of the Clare backroom. Ahead of the Shannonside derby, Browne acknowledges there are huge connections between the sides. “Joe [O’Connor] and Paul [Kinnerk] have been heavily involved with a lot of the Clare players. I have been involved for the past five or six years in Limerick. While with Monaleen, Brian Geary was a key figure in the side …

ANGRY workers at Zimmer Biomet may walk off the job next Tuesday, in protest at the level of bonuses they have received. Workers have made numerous complaints about conditions at the Shannon plant in recent years and it is understood there is a high turnover of staff there. “There is so much concern there that lads are actually talking about a walk-out. They’re taking it into their own hands next Tuesday, if something isn’t done,” a reliable source working at the plant said on Wednesday. Workers were disappointed with the bonus they received this time last year, the worker claimed, but what has been received recently is said to be far worse. “On average, there would be about €1,000 of a payout; sometimes it can go a bit above or below that. Most people are looking at €500 or less for this year. People use that for their car insurance, the mortgage, for kids going to school. It’s really bad, …