Tag Archives: Sixmilebridge

Cloontra East Bridge on the R471 Clonlara to Sixmilebridge Road is being closed at Cloontra East \ Mountrice with immediate effect until further notice as a result of structural damage and the requirement to undertake urgent remediation works in accordance with Section 75 of the Roads Act 1993. Confirming the closure today (Monday), Clare County Council said the decision to temporarily close the bridge to all access by vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians is in being made in the interests of public safety. Clare County Council will issue further updates in due course regarding the emergency road closure, which is expected to remain in effect for a minimum of four weeks. The public are advised to use alternative routes.  

Clare could become the first county in Ireland to generate electricity from solar energy following the granting of planning permission to Terra Solar to develop and operate the company’s second solar farm in Firgrove, Sixmilebridge. Construction on the Terra project is expected to commence mid next year, creating 60 jobs during the 12 week build. The Irish company also received planning permission earlier this year for another solar farm located in Ballymorris near Cratloe. Both solar farms are similar in size and between them will generate enough electricity from the sun to power nearly 2,500 homes in the county. Solar power is regarded as one of the cleanest sources of energy and has minimal impact on the environment as it does not emit pollution during production or consumption. The farms will remove nearly 3,600 tonnes of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, helping Clare County Council in its work towards meeting the national target of generating 40% of energy used from …

TWO club hurlers remain in hospital this week following injuries sustained in matches on Sunday. Kilmaley’s Diarmuid McMahon is in hospital in Galway, having suffered a serious head injury while playing for his club in a challenge game against Ardrahan. The principal teacher at Stonehall National School in Newmarket-on-Fergus, Diarmuid has been a key figure in Kilmaley’s senior team for more than a decade. Speaking on behalf of the club, secretary Patrick O’Malley wished Diarmuid “a speedy and full recovery”. Teenager James McMahon, meanwhile, was also removed to hospital in Limerick, after helping Newmarket to victory over Sixmilebridge in the U-21 A championship quarter-final at Gurteen. A student at St Caimin’s in Shannon, James is understood to have picked up an injury midway through the first half but played on until near the end of normal time. “It’s unfortunate that James picked up this injury and, on behalf of the club, I wish him well and we hope to see …

DAVY Fitzgerald has stepped down as Clare senior hurling manager after five years in the position during which time he led Clare to the All-Ireland senior title in 2013 and to the National league title earlier this year. The Sixmilebridge man’s decision to vacate the post, despite still having a year of his current term to run, has come following a meeting of around 30 players on Monday night at the Inn in Dromoland. While a vote wasn’t taken, there is general agreement that the players were evenly divided on the issue. A formal statement on Wednesday evening confirmed “Davy Fitzgerald has informed the Clare County Board that he will not be seeking reappointment to the position of Clare Senior Hurling Manager for 2017”. He insisted, “I was not asked to step down. The decision is entirely my own. In taking this decision however, I wish to reaffirm my absolute love and passion for Clare hurling. “I leave the Clare …

THE Clare Senior Hurling Championship will get underway with the meeting of Tulla and Clarecastle on this Friday evening, with all 16 teams in action over the weekend. An opening round victory will mean the threat of relegation from the top grade is eliminated. A new format was introduced last year, which will see one of the eight first-round losers relegated to the intermediate grade for next season. Following the first round, the eight winners will be drawn against each other, while the eight losers will also be drawn to face each other with the four losers going on to battle it out in the relegation play-off. Two of last year’s semi-finalists will find themselves in the losers round, as Sixmilebridge (holders) take on Crusheen and Clonlara (beaten finalists) face Kilmaley this weekend. In the semi-final last year, Clonlara needed a replay to overcome Kilmaley before they disappointed in the final against Sixmilebridge, who went through last season without tasting …

IT’S 38 years since Seán Stack captained Clare to their last national league title but when he presses the refresh button on the bank of memories, tales flow effortlessly. Most of them are of great times, games and life-long friends but an obstinate regret lingers that Clare failed to deliver a Munster title. The absence of a Munster medal irks Stack and always will. His eyes cannot conceal the hurt. Clare played in three league finals in the mid to late 1970s, losing in ’76 to Kilkenny and beating them in ’77 and ’78. They lost three successive provincial finals in that era. “Frightening isn’t it?” Stack said of the speed with which the years have piled up since. “Would you believe I can still feel the sense in the dressing room, the atmosphere in the camp and the build up to the league finals.” As if they togged together last Sunday, Stack can clearly recall who did what in …

A JURY has returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity in the trial of a County Kerry man accused of holding three people hostage at gunpoint at a Sixmilebridge residence last year. Thomas Howard (50) of Gortnaminch, Listowel pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to having a shotgun in his possession with intent to cause robbery, three counts of false imprisonment of a father, daughter and her fiancé and two counts of robbery on July 2, 2015 at Donnybrook Cottage, Sixmilebridge. He also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to an eighth count, which was the theft of an over and under double-barrel shotgun from a property in County Limerick on a date unknown between June 29, 2015 and July 2, 2015. Detective Garda Roddy Burke told Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday that matters unfolded at 4.45pm on July 2 last, when a lone male armed with a double-barrel shotgun, wearing a balaclava and dressed in dark clothes, approached Tadhg …

With the flood waters finally beginning to recede, Iarnród Éireann expects water levels to have dropped sufficiently for a mid May reopening of the railway line between Limerick and Ennis. Extensive flooding on the line at Ballycar had forced the closure of the rail link since last December. Since then bus transfers were in operation between Limerick and Ennis, with a limited service for Sixmilebridge Station, for the duration of the closure. The line flooded following a significant increase in water levels at Ballycar Lough due to the heavy rainfall in December and January, and the nature of inflows and outflows from the lough due to the karst landscape in the area. While the intense rainfall ceased in January, inflows caused flood levels at Ballycar to peak in early March at 1.4 metres above the rail line. This has now fallen to 0.9 metres above the line, with 1.75 miles of track remaining flooded, and Iarnród Éireann forecast that – unless further extreme …