Tag Archives: Mike Hogan

GRANTS totalling almost €7 million have been approved for 251 projects by the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC), it emerged this week. The final project approved in March 2021 is a €190,000 LEADER investment in renewable energy technology in Lahinch SeaWorld. This will see the installation of a ground source heat pump and solar panels at the popular North Clare community-run leisure facility, enabling the decarbonisation of their heat system and providing renewable heating and cooling systems for their amenities. The project will complement the existing renovation works and will deliver a major carbon offset of 216 tons annually. Speaking at the final board meeting of the 2014-2020  Programme, Clare Local Development Company chairman, Mike Hogan, stressed the importance of LEADER in supporting not only community-led local development projects but also helping communities to reach climate action targets. “Looking to the next rural development programme, LEADER will be more important than ever to rural communities who want to take environmental …

UP TO €3,000 worth of food and other essential supplies have been donated by members of an Ennis gym to families in need in the community over Christmas. In the run-up to the festive season, Mike Hogan of Ozone Health and Fitness asked members to donate whatever non-perishable products they could to support local families who need extra help at this time of year. “We did it for the first time in 2019 and collected around 150 kilos of food and other products,” said Mike. “This year, everyone was so conscious of how tough things have been for so many and we were delighted to reach 500 kilos of food and other basic supplies. I’m awful proud of everyone. We have fantastic members. Sometimes, there can be a bit of scepticism about charities and where the money goes, but we proved that what we are doing is supporting genuine people in our own community. People are really fantastic when they’re …

A CALL has gone out for funding and other support for Kilkishen Development Association after it was forced to curtail all community activities due to a lack of money. For the last five yeas, the association has been at the heart of efforts to provide essential maintenance in public areas and to keep Kilkishen Cultural Centre going, as a focal point for community events. In a statement, the association said that, “Closure of our cultural centre because of the Covid Pandemic has taken its toll on our financial position”. The association said last week that it had been unable to buy petrol for FÁS and Tús workers to continue grass-cutting in areas like Clonlea Cemetery, the amenity park, the grounds of the cultural centre and church, or to support Kilkishen Tidy Town by maintaining the grass margins on the approach roads to the village. “We hope you understand our current position until we organise a fundraising event later when the …

DUMPING and littering in East Clare have prompted calls from community organisations for more to be done to tackle the issues. While the Tidy Towns competition has been called off for this year, community leaders say they are still determined to address persistent littering in their areas. In Mountshannon, which scooped a national Tidy Towns title in 1981 and a Bronze Medal last year, large-scale dumping of household waste has been a recurrent issue. Joanne Dunphy-Allen, Co-Chairperson of Mountshannon Community Council said that a recent incident had generated anger locally. “It is very maddening, particularly because the Scariff Recycling Centre is just down the road,” she pointed out. “We’ve had refuse scattered around the pier and someone even managed to dump a significant amount in at the back of the bottle banks. That would not be an easy thing to do. The community has been very quick to go in an clear up, but this shouldn’t be happening in the …

KILKISHEN Development Ltd has this week revealed its disappointment that it could not reach agreement with L3 Communications Ltd – formerly Essco Collins – to take ownership of the factory, after the US-based company pulled out of the village last year. L3 Communications Ltd, which was the village’s largest employer, ceased operations in Ireland in 2016. There had been a dialogue from the company suggesting it would hand the factory over to the community for its use. Mike Hogan, chairperson of Kilkishen Development Ltd, confirmed that the possibility of the community acquiring the facility is no longer viable, after the property was sold. He felt they had been “led up the garden path” by multinational company L3 Communications Ltd, who did not inform the development group of the private sale. Mr Hogan said there had been an understanding that L3 Communications Ltd had offered the factory to the community when they were closing the facility, resulting in the loss of …