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West Clare

“Kilkee was somewhere I came to heal”

WITH a booming staycation summer close to its zenith, Kilkee Waterworld reopened this week. “We opened on Monday morning at 8am with a private lesson and then we had swim classes for the following two hours,” said Tracey Corbett Lynch, who is now managing the facility. She said it had been great to be able to reopen, after a very long closure. “There was a very short window of opening in the summer of 2020. We’re just delighted to be open and to welcome families in, both local and ones spending some time here over the summer.” Like many other premises around Clare, a major effort was required in advance of opening the doors once again. “We had a huge amount of work to do. When I joined in mid-June we first of all had a deep clean, we brought some contractors in to deep clean the whole building. “We had professional companies in to do the windows, we had …

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West Clare mast given green light despite objections

PLANNING permission has been granted for the enlargement of an existing telecommunications structure in Doonbeg. The structure will be raised to an overall height of 24.4 metres after the installation of three 2.9 metre omni antennas and a 0.6 metre dish onto an existing structure. Planning was granted for the addition, despite the opposition, on visual amenity grounds by some local residents. Cignal Infrastructure Ltd had lodged the application with Clare County Council and in a letter accompanying it emphasised the public service nature of the infrastructure. “The purpose of this application is to expand National Digital Radio Service in the local area in order to maintain the needs of our security, fire and safety, health, government and public service agencies. “Given the proposed development will form part of the local and national Emergency Services radio network, we trust that the planning authority will endeavour to determine this application as quickly as possible within the statutory timescale.” The application added, …

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Coast Guard called after men fleeing fisheries officers entered Shannon Estuary

THE Coast Guard was called in after two men caught using a net to capture wild salmon entered the waters of the Shannon estuary during a foot chase with Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) officers, a court has heard. At Kilrush District Court, IFI officer, Ray Byrne recounted the chase at Poulinadaree on the Shannon estuary on June 4 last year. he told the court that prior to the two men entering the waters, he warned them not to go in. Mr Byrne said, “They were attempting to swim but in my mind it would have ended up as a bad result.” He told the pair that he would contact the Coast Guard if they entered the waters. Mr Byrne told the court that the Coast Guard came on the scene within 10 to 15 minutes but then the two men refused to get into the coastguard boat at the scene. “At this stage,” said Mr Byrne, “they had come back …

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Clare Green resigns from County Council seat

THE Green Party’s Susan Crawford has tendered her resignation from Clare County Council, effective from August 31. Ms Crawford, who lives in Miltown, represented the Green Party in the Ennistymon Municipal District. She was co-opted onto the Council after Róisín Garvey, who won the seat in the 2019 local elections, became a senator. However, she has now announced her decision to resign, less than a year on, and the Green Party will nominate another representative. Efforts to contact Councillor Crawford this week proved unsuccessful. Speaking about her departure, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan said she will be a significant loss. “The first thing I’d have to say is that I’m disappointed we are losing someone of the calibre of Dr Susan Crawford. When she became a member of Clare County Council she was someone who was very well thought of in her local community and being a professional person I felt she was an advantage to the Council.” …

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Council’s pride at flying of rainbow flag in Kilrush

A WEST Clare councillor has described the response to the flying of the Pride flag at Kilrush Town Hall last month as “humbling”. Councillor Ian Lynch told the July local authority meeting of the positive impact of the move, as he called on the council to appoint a diversity and inclusion officer. “June was Pride month and, I put my hand up to this, I was relying on someone else to mark it,” he said. “I got a request to fly the Pride flag and I have to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Steve Lahiffe for making it happen. The response to that was one of the most humbling things I’ve experienced. There were people who woke up and felt better about themselves and about their town because the flag was flown.” The Independent member tabled a motion to have diversity and inclusion promoted. “We will be able to attract more people to the area if we can show …

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Clare man not guilty of dangerous driving causing death of friend

A MILTOWN Malbay man has been found not guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of his friend in a single-vehicle collision three years ago. The jury returned the verdict at Ennis Circuit Court at the conclusion of the trial of Tadgh O’Neill. Mr O’Neill (22), with an address at Poulawilliam, Miltown Malbay, and who previously lived and worked in Glasgow and London, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Inagh man Alan Rynne (30) at Caherogan, near Miltown Malbay on June 18, 2018. At the outset of the trial, Mr O’Neill pleaded guilty to driving while in excess of the legal alcohol limit and driving without insurance. He is due to be sentenced for those offences on July 22. Mr Rynne was a back seat passenger in a Volkswagen Golf driven by Mr O’Neill when it crashed into a bridge on a country road in the early hours of June 18, 2018. Members of Mr O’Neill’s …

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Clare anglers partake in international tuna tagging initiative

ANGLERS across Clare are taking part in a unique catch, tag and release programme to help Irish and international scientists learn more about the largest tuna in the world – the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Under the Tuna CHART programme, recreational anglers on board two authorised charter vessels in Clare will be catching bluefin tuna and skippers will be tagging and releasing them back into the sea, alive, from July to November this year. The Clare participants are Luke Aston of the Clare Dragoon, Carrigaholt, and Noel Kelleher of the Sailfish II out of Kilrush. The data collected on board authorised vessels will then be used for scientific assessment to improve knowledge of population structures, fish size and how bluefin tuna is distributed in Irish waters and throughout the North Atlantic. Migrating through North Atlantic waters, bluefin tuna frequent Irish coastal waters to feed. Bluefin is an iconic sports angling species and can grow up to 1,500 lbs (approximately 680 kgs). …

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St Theresa’s Nursing Home celebrates a quarter century of caring for elderly

A KILRUSH nursing home has celebrated a quarter of a century of providing care to Clare’s older citizens. St Theresa’s Nursing Home opened its doors, under the direction of Seán and Nora Grogan, on June 18, 1996, with the aim of giving residents a home away from home. Located on the Kilkee Road, St Theresa’s was designed by Séan and Nora Grogan as a purpose-built facility. Nora’s daughter Yvonne returned to Kilrush after a number of years nursing in London, Dublin and Galway. A specialist in palliative care, Yvonne came back to work alongside her mother to ensure the family ethos continued. Fr Pat Larkin who was curate in Kilrush in 1996 and is now Parish Priest celebrated mass for staff and residents. In March of this year, Nora sadly passed away and, as part of the 25 year celebration mass, Fr Pat remembered the commitment and dedication of both Nora and the late Séan. “Due to the restrictions we …

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