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Tag Archives: Ballycar

Commuters left stranded as plug pulled on rail line

MORE flooding at Ballycar means the Ennis-Limerick railway line has closed once again, potentially for the next couple of months. Local councillors this week slammed the long standing failure to tackle the flooding issue. “If it was outside Dublin, it’d be fixed,” said Councillor PJ Ryan (Ind) at Tuesday’s Shannon Municipal District meeting. Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) said a government minister had visited the area nearly 40 years ago, and it was anticipated that something would be done at that time. Several of the councillors said that they had received a huge amount of calls about the issue, with many people who rely on the service annoyed at the disruption. In a statement on Monday, Iarnród Éireann said, “Flood waters have risen significantly at Ballycar on the Limerick to Ennis railway line in recent days. As a result, the line between Limerick and Ennis is now closed, and services are suspended, until further notice.” It said that bus transport will …

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Irish Rail proposes new stations along the Ennis to Limerick railway line

IRISH Rail is proposing to open a number of new stations along the Ennis to Limerick railway line, including stops close to the Limerick Institute of Technology and University of Limerick which would improve access for Clare students, and a park-and-ride facility at Cratloe. Chief Executive of Irish Rail Jim Meade outlined the plans for Clare at an Oireachtas Committee on Transport this week following a number of questions by Clare Senator Timmy Dooley. Mr Meade also told the meeting that a technically viable drainage scheme which would prevent the “long running saga” of recurring flooding at Ballycar has been submitted for government approval and funding. And he indicated that Irish Rail would support moves to open a station at Crusheen. Speaking to the Clare Champion following the meeting, Senator Dooley said it is “clear” that Irish Rail is in touch with the issues in Clare. “I am very pleased that Irish Rail are committed to increasing capacity and increasing …

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Limerick to Ennis rail service back on track

The railine between Limerick and Ennis reopened from first service this Tuesday morning. The line had been closed since late February due to flooding at Ballycar in Newmarket-on-Fergus.  Iarnród Éireann is advising customers that due to Covid-19 a revised timetable is in place and only essential travel is permitted. For those who must travel, they should check www.irishrail.ie before travelling for times. The railway track at Ballycar Lough has flooded on a number of occasions in recent years. This flooding has led to temporary closures of the railway line for extended periods of up to 20 weeks at a time, although this closure was not as prolonged. Flood waters rose to a maximum height of 1.6 metre above the railway track during some flood events, despite works, which saw Iarnród Éireann  raise the track level by 60 centimetres at Ballycar in 2003 to mitigate against the effects of flooding. This time flood waters reached 1metre above the track. Work is ongoing on …

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Garda clarifies role in Ballycar incident

GARDA Declan Fawl has moved to clarify the role he played in the aftermath of a single vehicle crash at Ballycar on Wednesday. “I arrived at the scene after the call came in and at no stage did I pull anyone from a burning car,” he said. He confirmed his role had been limited to making sure the area was safe following the crash, in which a couple and a young child were in a car that overturned. “People were moved to a safe distance, the area was secured and the fire brigade arrived a short time later as the car was alight.” Local woman Aideen O’Hanlon was one of the first people who came upon the accident, in which the three passengers had a lucky escape. “I came onto the scene seconds after it happened. The car was upside down. Myself and two other men went over to help them. The couple were in the front and they crawled …

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Train services to resume on Limerick to Ennis line

Trains will be back operating on the Limerick to Ennis line from tomorrow, March 21 after the railway line was closed for several weeks due to flooding at Ballycar in Newmarket. The line has been closed since late January due to flooding at Ballycar. Iarnród Éireann said a test train will operate today, but no issues are expected. The railway track at Ballycar Lough has flooded on a number of occasions in recent years and this flooding has led to temporary closures of the railway line for extended periods of up to 20 weeks at a time. Flood waters rose to a maximum height of 1.60m above the railway track during some flood events, despite works which saw Iarnród Éireann has previously raised the track level by 60 centimetres at Ballycar in 2003 to mitigate against the effects of flooding. In addition to causing disruption to rail services, these flood events also caused disruption to the water supply to Newmarket …

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Newmarket nun celebrates golden jubilee

The  Archbishop of Cardiff George Stack, led tributes to Clare born nun, Sister Mairéad Noonan, at a special mass in Wales recently to celebrate the 50th year of her religious profession. A native of Moohane, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Sr Mairéad is attached to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy at LLantarnam Abbey, Cwmbran in South East Wales. The mass in Llantarnam Abbey  was attended by Sr Mairéad’s mother, Ellen and members of the Noonan family. A daughter of Ellen and the late Charles Noonan, Sr Mairéad attended Ballycar National Achool and Ennis Vocational School before becoming a member of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy in Llanternam Abbey. She then undertook teacher training in Newman College in the University of Birmingham after which she pursued a training course in psychotherapy .She is now an energy and  health practitioner in Llantarnam Abbey. A former Cistercian monastery, Llantarnam Abbey was also a depot for the American Army during World War II. In 1946 it …

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Ballycar group visits the Áras

The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins recalled his boyhood days in Clare, when a group from Ballycar, Newmarket-on-Fergus were among his garden party guests at Áras an Uachtaráin last Sunday. The President mingled with his former neighbours, exchanging stories of their formative years in Ballycar National School. Talk also came around to many events that made their way into the parish history books and he even recalled enjoying playing handball in the local alley. President Higgins and his wife, Sabina, welcomed the 80-strong Ballycar group, part of a gathering of nearly 500 people, at a marquee on the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin. The afternoon programme included a tour of the stately residence, viewing the gardens and even a respite to watch the Ireland-France soccer game on a large screen. President Higgins’ one-time neighbour, Kathleen O’Leary, presented him with a hollowed vessel made from Ballycar ash by local man Ray Walsh. Each year, President Higgins and Mrs Higgins open …

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Mid May reopening of Ennis Limerick rail line

With the flood waters finally beginning to recede, Iarnród Éireann expects water levels to have dropped sufficiently for a mid May reopening of the railway line between Limerick and Ennis. Extensive flooding on the line at Ballycar had forced the closure of the rail link since last December. Since then bus transfers were in operation between Limerick and Ennis, with a limited service for Sixmilebridge Station, for the duration of the closure. The line flooded following a significant increase in water levels at Ballycar Lough due to the heavy rainfall in December and January, and the nature of inflows and outflows from the lough due to the karst landscape in the area. While the intense rainfall ceased in January, inflows caused flood levels at Ballycar to peak in early March at 1.4 metres above the rail line. This has now fallen to 0.9 metres above the line, with 1.75 miles of track remaining flooded, and Iarnród Éireann forecast that – unless further extreme …

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