Tag Archives: Ennis

BISHOP Fintan Monahan has defended his appointment of Fr Ignatius McCormack as principal of St Flannan’s College in an interview with The Clare Champion, following concerns raised and reported in The Irish Times. The Bishop of Killaloe said direct appointment is the way priest principals were appointed in the past, that it is “not without precedent” and that he had it “utterly checked” beforehand. He said direct appointment “is normal practice”. “That’s the way all past priest principals would have been appointed and there is a facility for doing that in diocesan colleges. There is a thing called the articles of management and under Article 20, the patron of the school is entitled to appoint a priest directly to be principal of the school, so that is allowable in diocesan colleges”. He outlined that lay principals would be advertised publicly and filled following an interview process. He added that St Flannan’s College is “very fortunate to have Fr Ignatius in …

AN application is to be made to Clare County Council for planning permission to build 148 houses at a prime location, adjacent to the Beechpark roundabout on the Ennis inner relief road and in close proximity to Ennis Golf Club. In a notice published in this week’s Clare Champion, Abadair Investments Limited has signalled its intention to seek planning permission for 148 residential units, (60 detached houses, 82 semi-detached houses, six terrace houses) and ancillary surface car parking, as well as a crèche, ancillary outdoor play area, staff car parking and a drop-off zone. This is a massive boost for the building trade and housing market in Ennis. Over the past while, many local auctioneers have spoken of the frustration experienced by clients, who have been unable to buy new houses. The expansive elevated site earmarked for development is behind a number of existing houses on Circular Road (R474), a 10-minute walk to the town centre and just a stone’s …

As part of the twinning relationship between Ennis and Phoenix, Arizona, the Mayor of Ennis and the chairperson of the Ennis Phoenix Twinning Committee met with visitors from Phoenix on their first visit to the county capital on Tuesday. Among the visitors was Susan Robbins, whose father, Phil was part of the original delegation to Ennis in 1988, when the twining arrangement with Phoenix was signed. While in Clare this week, the American visitors took in a number of scenic locations and tourism attractions.  

THE Health and Safety Authority (HSA) are today beginning an investigation after an incident yesterday in which a bull injured three men at Ennis mart. The incident occurred yesterday morning and the bull has since been put down while two of the men remain in hospital. A HSA spokesman said that their inspector will be at the mart today, to investigate the incident. Clare Marts released a brief statement on Friday morning. “Clare Marts confirms an incident took place in the Ennis Mart on Thursday, May 25 at the point of intake of animals.  Three men were injured and taken to hospital and two men remain in hospital.  All agencies were notified of the incident.”  

Clare County Council has granted permission for a major expansion project at Ennis Community College and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir. The planners made their decision on Wednesday, having received applications on behalf of the school from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. “We are thrilled with the decision to grant permission for this development”, said the school principal Brian O’Donoghue. “The project will see a build of over 4,100 square metres. It includes multiple classrooms and specialist rooms such as science labs. Also included is a full size state of the art sports hall. We have been in Ennis since 1938 and this is a very significant development which will greatly benefit our students and the community of Ennis.” Construction is expected to begin in the coming months.

PLANS for the opening of a coffee shop in the Market area of Ennis, which were objected to by a number of local businesses, have been turned down by the council, saying it would lead to an “erosion” of the retail character of the locality. National franchise Insomnia had been planning to open a 78-seater outlet on Lower Market Street, at the site of the former XtraVision store within the Architectural Conservation Area of Ennis. Margaret McGann applied to Clare County Council for the change of use of 29 Lower Market Street from a retail unit to a coffee shop, which would operate under the Insomnia chain. Separate objections to the plans were lodged with Clare County Council by the operators of Souper Café and Restaurant, Food Heaven, Meanwell Ltd and Zest. According to objectors, the plans would lead to a loss of business for existing operators, leading to fears of closures and job cuts. This was dismissed by the …

FUNDING of close to €1.6 million has been provided to build eight new local authority homes in Ennis. A provisional budget has been approved by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to build eight homes at Beech Court, Roslevan, Ennis. These homes will be made up of two two-bedroom single-story homes, five three-bedroom two-storey houses and one four-bedroom two-storey house. A total of €1,248,200 will be allocated to Clare County Council for the construction of these houses, while a further €200,000 will be provided to the local authority for site costs, with the remainder of the funding for technical fees, salaries and utilities. The funding for the eight new homes on a site at Beech Court and Beech View, which already has a housing stock of 48 houses, is being provided under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Minister of State for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen said, “This latest funding for new …

A free clinic on appropriate colour schemes for Ennis property owners will be held at the Temple Gate Hotel on Monday, May 29 next from 6.15 p.m. The free workshop, which is being facilitated by Dulux Paints Ireland, forms part of the recently announced Ennis Town Centre Paint Scheme 2017. Workshop attendees are invited to bring along a colour photograph of their property and a Dulux consultant will provide individual advice on the most appropriate colour scheme for the relevant property. Under the Ennis Town Centre Paint Scheme 2017, financial assistance is being provided by Clare County Council to the owners and occupiers of new and existing commercial premises in the town centre who carry out improvements, external painting and, in particular, to the visible aspects of their properties. Grant amounts of up to €700 or 50% of the cost of any planned works will be provided by the local authority to applicants successful under the scheme.