Shannon

An Austrian Airlines plane diverted to Shannon Airport this Thursday (April 21) and a disruptive passenger was removed from the flight. It is understood the man, who is 29 years of age, was intoxicated on board the flight which was travelling from Vienna to New York. The plane landed in Shannon at 1.10pm on Thursday and the passenger was taken from the flight. A senior garda confirmed that the passenger had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and was refused more alcohol on the flight. “He then became aggressive and difficult to the staff. They had to move a number of passengers away from his area. Obviously the disruption was so severe that the captain diverted the plane, he wanted him removed from the flight as he felt it was unsafe to continue with him on board,” the garda spokesperson said. The man is understood to be from Albania originally but has been living in the United States for 25 years …

A SPOKESMAN for the Clare fire service has said that a fire at Thermo King in Shannon has been brought under control. Large plumes of smoke have been wafting into the sky above the industrial estate this afternoon, while workers had to leave their posts. The fire service spokesman said that only units of the Shannon fire brigade had been required to tackle the blaze and that they had brought it under control relatively quickly.   Owen Ryan  

Irish Water (IW) is under scrutiny once again following a stream of complaints about sewage overflowing in Shannon last year. A new “damning” report about environmental breaches concerning the Shannon Wastewater Treatment Plant and foul network has prompted renewed pressure on government to sanction an estimated €24 million for a major upgrade of the Shannon plant and foul network. The 2015 Annual Environmental Report for the Shannon Wastewater Treatment Plant outlined a steady flow of complaints about sewage overflows from January 16, 2015 to December 31 last. They included 11 complaints about sewage overflowing from a manhole, six into gardens, one onto a street and one through a wall. All the complaints related to blocked sewers, which required action to unblock manholes. In the case of sewage overflowing into one garden on January 29 last, a CCTV survey was undertaken and repair was scheduled in the first quarter of this year. One of 28 environmental complaints concerning blocks sewers in …

Everything from microchips inserted at birth to predict health problems to self-drive cars with workstations were imagined for a world 50 years from now as 700 students competed at the second Young Innovators competition at Shannon Airport. The students representing schools nationwide were set the tasks of imagining the world 50 years from now and coming up with new business ideas for then across six categories – how we Live, Work, Play, Shop, Learn and Travel. Top honours were claimed by St. Patrick’s Comprehensive, Shannon. The Irish Technology Leaders Group (ITLG) event, in association with LIT, saw the students mentored by representatives from some of the world’s leading companies including Dell, Intel, Analog, Johnson and Johnson, Cook Medical, Zagg and Logitech ahead of submitting their project. A short list of six schools – eventual winners St. Patrick’s Comprehensive, Shannon (Work category); Mary Immaculate, Lisdoonvarna (Play category, 2nd place); Patrician Academy, Mallow (Shop category, 3rd place); Salesian College, Limerick (Travel category); Castletroy …

Some 700 students will touch down in Shannon Airport on Wednesday morning to compete for the The Irish Technology Leaders Group (ITLG) Young Innovators title. The event starts at 10am in the terminal building and will see the students from 15 counties imagine the world 50 years from now in a competition to become Ireland’s ‘Young Innovators’ for 2016. Teams will be tasked with exploring how society will live, work, play, shop, learn and travel half a century away. The winning team will be announced at 4pm following a pitch by a shortlist of finalists and will walk away with not alone the ‘Young Innovators’ title but a dream trip to Silicon Valley, California courtesy of Aer Lingus. Students will have the opportunity over the course of the day to meet with and hear from experts from these companies as well as experts in future technologies from the third level sector. Mentors from industry will work with students on the day …

ONE Shannnon man has vowed he will chain himself to gates at the site of the proposed crematorium at Illaunnamanagh to stop machinery getting in to start work. Pat Madden says he is utterly determined to prevent the crematorium going ahead at the current location, which he says is very inappropriate. “I’m only speaking for myself here now, my colleagues and I have to debate it, but I am prepared to chain myself to the gate. Should it proceed a bit farther, there is another option open to me,” he said. While he didn’t go into detail on what other options he might be considering, he added, “I’m prepared to take very, very extensive measures, but that’s not a threat of violence or anything like that.” However, he indicated that his own personal safety might be at risk. Even if the crematorium were built, he said he would be moved to protest when funerals began. “If it is finished, the …

SHANNON Family Resource Centre (SFRC) is hosting a new support group for fathers who are living apart from their children. A spokesperson for SFRC said, “It’s just two weeks old, it’s very new. It came from the community, a request was made here. A couple of fathers were talking to each other, looking for a space where they could share information and offer support to each other. That’s how the idea came about – local lads met and they are still meeting.” Speaking about the issues that are being dealt with in the group, the spokesperson explained, “Basically, the fathers are not with the mothers of the children and it’s been about custody and things like that. It’s really a group for dads, who feel they don’t have a voice particularly around shared care.” As time goes by, the group will go in the direction that those involved want it to. “It has to be what they want in a …

Shannon-based county councillor Gerry Flynn has decided against running for the Dáil. The independent councillor said he made the decision with a heavy heart but had concluded that it wasn’t possible for him to win a seat, particularly with support for Fine Gael rising. He predicted that the electorate will punish Labour but that Fine Gael will perform well and will probably hold onto their two Clare seats. Councillor Flynn said finance is part of the reason for not running. “I have thought long and hard about it, I’ve looked at the opinion polls. I have also costed how much I would need. I’d have to have approximately €30,000 at my disposal to even think about it. The parties are funded by the taxpayer but, for me, it would be like climbing Mount Everest 10 times. There was no way Gerry Flynn was going to enter any race unless I thought I was going to win. From an economic perspective, …