Tag Archives: Doughmore

A SWIMMER had to be airlifted to hospital yesterday evening after being rescued by a surfer from the sea off County Clare. A second person managed to make it ashore safely. The alarm was raised at around 6pm when it was reported that two people had gotten into difficulty in the sea off Doughmore Beach in Doonbeg close to the Trump International Hotel. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted a search and rescue operation. The Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to the incident. It’s understood that one swimmer, a male, managed to make it ashore safely. The second, a female in her 60s, was rescued and brought ashore by a surfer. It’s believed the woman got caught in a rip current and was found face down in the water. According to one eyewitness: “She was unconscious when she was taken out but then she started …

A group of Doonbeg residents organised a special commemoration ceremony recently for the 80th anniversary of the crash landing of an RAF flying boat in Doughmore Bay. Dan Danaher chronicles this fascinating tale involving the tragic death of nine airmen, the heroic rescue of two colleagues, an eye witness account of the wreckage, salvaged items such as a 1940 aircraft tool kit box, and relatives’ accounts of the extraordinary bravery of those who risked their own lives to help save the lives of others. HISTORY hung heavily in the Doonbeg air recently as Colm Gowran commemorated the loss of nine airmen following a tragic crash-landing 80 years ago. A hush descended on the crowd gathered on Doughmore Beach during a minute silence after the Ennis Brass Band member played “The Last Post” on his trumpet, marking the end of a soldier’s day. This signalled the finale of a poignant ceremony organised by a local committee remembering the 11 airmen involved …

IN a submission to Clare County Council, relating to the further information supplied to the local authority by Trump International Golf Links regarding their planning application for coastal erosion management works, An Taisce claims that the information has not adequately addressed the ecological issues with the application. Clare County Council is due to give a decision on December 21 on the planning application, which seeks to obtain permission to construct coastal projection works on Doughmore Beach. In recent years, the resort has been hit by a number of instances of flooding. “This is largely because they are erroneously conflating the erosion of the dune frontage, as a result of the golf course stopping the dunes’ movement with the natural erosion associated with normal dune dynamics. That, in turn, has led them to claim that the do-nothing scenario will be ‘profoundly detrimental’ to the dune habitats. So the premise of all of their arguments, that the proposed walls will help the …

SHOULD Trump International in Doonbeg be successful in obtaining planning permission from Clare County Council to build revised coastal projection works on Doughmore beach, next to the resort, the owners will implement a €30 million investment programme. Eric Trump, who runs the Trump organisation with his brother Donald Junior, spoke at length about his plans to The Clare Champion on Tuesday evening. He was on a two-day visit to West Clare. While he offered views on issues ranging from US President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb an air base in Syria to a possible hard post-Brexit border, the 33-year-old was keen to stress his personal commitment to the Doonbeg resort. “It’s tens of millions. Easily €30m, when everything is said and done,” he confirmed when asked about potential investment plans, pending the planning application. “We have a massive plan for an unbelievable ballroom here, which will create hundreds of construction jobs, as well as full-time jobs. We have plans to …

THE newly-formed Doughmore Coastal Protection Group will host a public meeting in Doonbeg hall next Monday night as members seek public support for coastal protection work on the beach, which bounds on Trump International golf resort. Golf course management has reapplied to Clare County Council for scaled-down coastal protection works and Doughmore Coastal Protection Group chairman Liam Ryan is adamant that jobs at the golf resort must be protected. “There are 300 people employed there from places like Doonbeg, Cree, Cooraclare, Mullagh and Quilty. We have to protect these jobs. You hear very few announcements about jobs around the country. In the last two weeks, we’ve had ministers and councillors travelling all over the world, seeking investment in Ireland on the back of St Patrick’s Day. What we’ve got to do is protect what we’ve got. “The greatest gift you can have is a job and that you can live in the area that you want to live in. That’s …

UNLESS rock armour protection is put in front of the sand dunes in Doughmore Beach, the Doonbeg golf course will eventually be rendered unusable. That’s the stark message from the golf resort general manager, Joe Russell. He was speaking following a two-day consultation, held in Doonbeg community hall this week, on a proposed coastal protection scheme. The golf course was extensively flooded in 2014 and some holes were closed for long periods. “The golf course needs to be protected. Over the last number of years, the dune face has retreated approximately a yard per year. People have seen a huge retreat in these dunes. If we don’t do it, eventually the golf course will go and there is an over-riding question; what generation is going to do it? If it breaches the dunes, a lot of agricultural land behind the club is going to get flooded,” Joe Russell predicted. Up to 10 metres of sand dune front along the entire …