Tag Archives: Old Ground Hotel

BUSINESS people at Barrack Square and Old Barrack Street in Ennis were invited to an exhibition of new proposals for the area at The Old Ground Hotel on this week. Some raised concerns about what the proposals would mean for access and parking in the area. The preliminary proposals for the area include: • Introduction of a one-way traffic flow westwards, from O’Connell Street to Market Place; • Creation of a traffic-calmed pedestrian-priority plaza, with high-quality surface materials; • Increased footpath widths along Barrack Street to encourage improved pedestrian linkage between the Market and Square; • Provision of a central focal feature/gathering area, comprising a lightweight canopy structure; • Removal of on-street parking; • Provision of a loading and short-term parking bay; • Introduction of distinctive street furniture, including public seating, lighting, public artwork and new trees; • The retention of vehicle access to Westby Lane and existing residential properties. A council document on the proposals states, “Currently, the opportunities …

Following news that United Airlines is to cease its seasonal transatlantic service from Shannon to Chicago from next year, Mary Gleeson, general manager of the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis, has urged Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to do all in their power to reinstate the key route. “After five years of promoting the Chicago-Shannon route to all our contacts, we are devastated to hear that United Airlines appear to be walking away from it. “We understand that the summer period was very successful for these flights and every time I met a client who had travelled on it, I was told that the flight was full or close to it. So I find the claim that the route is no longer financially viable hard to believe. “Surely the loss of this valuable route, in terms of regional development, particularly with the success of the Wild Atlantic Way, warrants the intervention of the …

POPULAR local drama group Ennis Players are facing a potential crisis in the coming months, as they are set to be left without a premises. Explaining the situation, Arthur Forde, who first became involved with the Players in the late 1970s, said, “We’re sort of homeless at the moment. The property boom has meant that if a place is at all useful in a commercial way, it’s gone. “We’ve been in various places, various halls, various pieces of property around. We had a unit out in the Quin Road industrial estate, but that was always just a temporary stop-gap. As soon as it became needed, we were to be on our bike.” The group have been there for the last two years but are due to vacate the premises this October. Arthur says that, while the group would not be very particular, there are certain things that would be helpful. “It has to be reasonably high anyway. We need the …

MAUREEN Cronin, a woman of indomitable spirit, had more birthday cards than Christmas cards to open this year. The writer and poet turned 100 on Christmas Day but hosted her big party a few days earlier in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis. Surrounded by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a big number of other family members and friends, Maureen enjoyed a wonderful occasion. Born on December 25, 1916 in the musical and cultural heartland of Sliabh Luachra, the former Maureen O’Carroll made history in the education system when she defied the marriage ban for women by carrying on working for 12 months without pay, then continuing her career until well after the ban was eventually lifted in 1958. When Maureen married Sean Cronin, she wast teaching in County Limerick. After she was married, she went back to the school and continued to work without receiving a salary. For many she was a pioneer but in an interview a couple …

A delegation of 19 tourism enterprises, including the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis, undertook a three-city trade and media blitz to the west coast of the United States last week. Thirteen Irish tourism companies and six American tour operators met influential travel agents and tour operators in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, as part of Tourism Ireland’s 2017 promotions. California is now the second largest and fast-growing market within the United States for tourism to the island of Ireland. The sales blitz coincided with the announcement by Aer Lingus that its Los Angeles-Dublin flight will become a daily service for summer 2017. This is in addition to the Aer Lingus San Francisco-Dublin flight and Ethiopian Airlines’ service from Los Angeles. The ‘Jump into Ireland’ events were also an ideal opportunity to remind the American travel professionals that it’s now easier than ever before to get to the island of Ireland from the west coast of the US. Alison Metcalfe, …

Fáilte Ireland met members of the Clare tourism industry in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis, on Thursday, as part of a series of briefings, with a focus on the Wild Atlantic Way. This year, the national tourism authority will be upping the ante with a mixture of further developments for the attraction and greater promotion to key overseas markets. Last year, Fáilte Ireland invested €10 million rolling out the route, which stretches from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork and instantly the new attraction garnered significant interest overseas. Over its first year in existence, Fálte Ireland has been working to further develop the Wild Atlantic Way and has made significant progress to date. A signage plan has been implemented for the entire route and all the directional signage along the route has been in place since the end of May 2014. At the briefing Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland’s head of the Wild Atlantic Way, said 2015, …

THE retail community in Ennis have created a series of magical, sparkling windows allowing the public to dip into the world of Christmas fantasy. Their imagination was inspired this year by the theme of The Clare Champion’s annual window display competition, Frozen in Ennis. This is the 11th year of the competition and entrants were invited to, once again, give free rein to their creative sides and they certainly Let it Go. The wide interpretation of Frozen in Ennis, inspired by the 2013 Walt Disney film, the highest grossing animation movie of all time, was reflected in the glittering shop fronts all around the town. Since its release last year, Frozen has become a firm favourite with children of all ages. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, it tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey along with a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer and a naive snowman, in …

A record price of €390,000 was achieved for a house and 13.6 acres at a public auction in Ennis this week. The house, located between the church and school in Deerpark, Doora, was the home of the late Fr Paddy Lynch. The house is set back some 350 metres from the road and is approached by a tree-lined avenue. Dating to the 1700s, it is a small period house and is need of refurbishment. Nevertheless, more than 35 parties viewed the house over the past five weeks and in excess of 60 people packed the Lemenagh Room in the Old Ground Hotel for the auction on Thursday afternoon. “Bidding opened at €200,000 and briskly reached €370,000 in €10,000 increments. Five further bids brought down the hammer at €390,000,” auctioneer, Paddy Darmody of Sherry FitzGerald MccMahon reported. “I have been with Sherry FitzGerald McMahon for more than 35 years and this house is unique in that it is a small country …