Tag Archives: Kilrush

A public demonstration relating to the shock closure of six childcare centres in West Clare and the subsequent loss of 53 jobs, will take place in Kilrush town square on Wednesday (February 24) at 12.30pm. News of the closures were relayed to staff by text message, following a West Clare Early Years board meeting, on February 13. In a statement to The Clare Champion, parents and former staff of West Clare Early Years outlined their reasons for the demonstration, which will be held two days before the 2016 General Election. “We the parents and former staff of West Clare Early Years have been devastated by the closure of the childcare facilities in West Clare. Fifty three workers and 400 families have been affected by the closures. The parents and staff met with Pobal last week at which time we were assured that everything that could be done would be done to re-open the facilities urgently. To date we still have …

MARY Conroy has so many dolls she won’t be able to bring all 20,000 of them to her fundraiser for Crumlin Children’s Hospital on the first weekend in April. Out of action for a few years due to back trouble – not, she insists, caused by lugging dolls about – the upcoming fundraiser in Sandyford, Dublin, will be her first for a few years. The Kilrush woman, who is originally from Pound Street, has been collecting dolls since she was a child and has two houses teeming with them in her back garden. “I have two big dolls houses in the garden and I have another shed full of prams. Unfortunately, they’re getting packed out now at the minute. They need to be somewhere to be displayed properly,” she mused. “I have a fair amount of them,” Mary conceded, when it was put to her that 20,000 dolls is a lot. “It’s a lot of work packing them up in …

THE West Clare Family Resource Centre has called an emergency meeting on Monday at 7.30pm in Kilrush Community Centre, following news that West Clare Early Years has closed with the loss of 53 jobs. The headquarters are located in Glebe House, Kilrush, while there are childcare facilities also located in Lissycasey, Kilkee, Kildysart and Kilmihil. Four hundred families are now without childcare following the closure which followed a meeting of the Board of Management on Saturday. “We’ll be gathering on Monday evening to work out a campaign and call upon local and national politicians to take fast action to guarantee our children aren’t left without good quality care. Everyone is welcome to come along,” said Mary O’Donoghue, co-ordinator of the West Clare Family Resource Centre in Kilrush. “These closures are a catastrophe for families who rely on childcare, not to mention the 53 workers who have lost their jobs. First and foremost, we will be calling for reinstatement of all …

APPROXIMATELY 50 staff of West Clare Early Years, whose headquarters is located at Glebe House in Crawford Street Kilrush, have been told today (Saturday) that they are being laid off. Come Monday morning up to 400 families will now have no childcare. The centre in Kilrush and outreach centres in Kildysart, Kilkee, Lissycasey and Kilmihil will close with immediate effect. This closure is a devastating blow to the West Clare region, given the size of the workforce and the significance of the service to families in the area. The West Clare Family Resource Centre has called a public meeting for Monday at 7.30pm in Kilrush Community Centre to deal with the fall out from the development. “We’ll be gathering on Monday evening to work out a campaign and to call upon local and national politicians to take fast action to guarantee our children aren’t left without good quality care,” Mary O’Donoghue, Co-ordinator of the West Clare Family Resource Centre in …

THE absence of the Kilrush Sports Complex from the list of 27 sport organisations or council facilities in Clare to receive a portion of the countywide €1.27 million Sports Capital Grants has sparked controversy. Local independent councillor, Ian Lynch claims that because Kilrush is a DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) area and in need of facilities for teenagers, the application should have been prioritised. The Clare County Council-operated Kilrush Sports Complex, which includes an AstroTurf pitch, was officially opened on April 9 of this year. Councillor Lynch says “a very comprehensive application” was submitted by the Kilrush Sports Complex management committee for critical funding. The biggest individual beneficiary from the Sports Capital Grants in Clare was the council-run Active Ennis Sports and Amenity Park in Lees Road, which has received €200,000 in funding. “I am extremely disappointed and angry. West Clare is crying out for facilities for our youth. This allocation of funding will see some areas develop, …

THE possibility of new businesses setting up in Kilrush or of current businesses expanding is being stymied because of the lack of acceptable broadband connectivity. Kilrush Chamber of Commerce president, Mairead O’Brien, who, along with her husband, is self-employed, and IT specialist, Alan Howard have said the town is standing still economically because of broadband issues. “There are probably up to 100 businesses in Kilrush, from retail to people working from home. We have two small businesses in my house alone but we can’t send or receive invoices. It’s as petty as that. I’m not talking about Netflix. We’re not talking about the domestic issue of the lack of broadband. We’re talking about the nuts and bolts of not being able to receive important invoices or price lists. “Doing business on the internet is just not working. There is not enough broadband connectivity. We’re bumped up on the broadband upgrade list, we’re bumped down on the list but we’re not …

THE Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee may be regretting being so helpful to their counterparts in Listowel, when a delegation from the North Kerry town visited West Clare last spring. The Kerry group arrived in Kilrush, cap in hand, wondering aloud as to the secret behind their hosts’ 2014 win in Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town category. Led by their chairman, Paul Edson, the Kilrush committee were ever so helpful and sang like canaries. Imagine their shock on Monday, when they learned they had been knocked off their perch by none other than Listowel, who improved their 2014 total by 11 points. “We must have given them too much information because they went and dethroned us, the cute hoors,” Paul Edson laughed ruefully. Kilrush did finish second in their category and picked by their eighth successive Tidy Towns gold medal, so it wasn’t exactly a nightmare week for them. “Murt Collins, our vice-chairman, is a Kerry man and he knows the Listowel …

Both Ennis and Kilrush came agonisingly close to winning the national title in the National Tidy Towns competitions, the results of which were announced today (Monday). Ennis (321) and Kilrush (320) have both been awarded Gold Medals, finishing just 2 and 3 marks respectively off the overall competition winner, Letterkenny (323). Mountshannon won Silver and there were Bronze Medals for Ballynacally, Kilkee, Tuamgraney and Quin. Clarecastle won an Endeavour Award, while Ennis, Kilrush and Mountshannon claimed the County Awards. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, James Breen said, “Regardless of whether or not they have received an award in the national competition, each of Clare’s other Tidy Towns participants are already winners for the huge positive contribution they have made to their localities.” Chairperson of Ennis Tidy Towns Committee, Josephine Cotter Coughlan, stated, “We are delighted with our result this year and to have achieved an increase of seven marks on our 2014 score. The fact that Ennis finished just two …