Tag Archives: Tom McNamara

GLOWING tributes to the contribution made by Stockton’s Wing to Irish and folk music in Ireland and abroad were paid during a civic reception on Monday night. Past and present members of Stockton’s Wing, which was formed in Ennis in 1977, gathered at Áras Contae an Chláir along with elected members, council officials, special guests from the world of music and entertainment, family and friends. On behalf of the group, Mike Hanrahan said the band were “humbled and delighted” to be recognised in such a tremendous way in their own county. He said the band was accepting the award on behalf of their families and all the countless people who supported them over the last 40 years. He recalled ditching his books in the River Fergus after the school holidays and heading up to Doolin in a car with his brother Kieran and Paul Roche, where they discovered a whole new world of musicians, poets, dancers, “chancers, lovers and dreamers”. …

This Wednesday’s opening of the M18 Gort to Tuam motorway has been welcomed by Councillor Tom McNamara, Mayor of Clare. Mayor McNamara said the motorway is “a vitally important infrastructure project that will bring a range of significant benefits for the regional economy and for communities along the route that are currently experiencing traffic congestion.  It also will create immediate benefits, especially for drivers of commercial and heavy vehicles.” “There are clear benefits for Shannon Airport which will be easily accessible to customers along the western seaboard while the improved connectivity will make the West of Ireland a more competitive location for foreign direct investment,” he said. Shannon Group and Shannon Airport have stated that the opening of the M18 Gort to Tuam motorway is “an unprecedented opportunity to advance the case of a western economic corridor”. Shannon Airport managing director Andrew Murphy said that this final link in a seamless motorway/dual carriageway chain from Tuam to Galway, Ennis, Shannon, …

  Clare County Council today (Monday) hosted a delegation from Rhode Island, USA, at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis. The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, comprising business, tourism and government representatives, was led by Mayor Scott Avedisian, City of Warwick. Warwick is the second largest city in the State of Rhode Island and is home to T F Green Airport which is served from Shannon Airport by Norwegian Air. The delegation was welcomed to Ennis by Councillor Tom McNamara (Mayor of Clare), Pat Dowling,Chief Executive, Clare County Council and Padraic McElwee, head of enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Clare). A function attended by the delegation and community, business, Government, local government and tourism representatives from throughout County Clare was hosted in Durty Nelly’s, Bunratty, last night (Sunday).

RATS have been spotted near a house in Ennis that has been used as a dumping ground, it has been claimed, as calls were made to address illegal littering described as a “plague” on the county. Rubbish has been dumped behind the house on the Gort Road for the past two years, according to Councillor Tom McNamara. At this week’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, the councillor said, “When the Environment Section of Clare County Council have fully investigated the illegal dumping of waste and cannot find anyone responsible, they contact the area office to remove it to landfill. What process has the area engineer in place to insure that this waste is removed to landfill?” He gave an example of the house on the Gort Road, saying, “There has been sightings of rats in the vicinity. I request this waste to be removed to landfill immediately.” Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer, responded, “The municipal district office is tasked …

MID-West parents are to be supplied with “free baby boxes”, in addition to important literature, when they leave the University Maternity Hospital Limerick, it has been announced. The proposal, which is being introduced at no cost to the HSE, is now at a stage where all the necessary groundwork has been carried out and has been  launched  this Friday. Over the last two months, the University Maternity Hospital Limerick, led and co-ordinated by Dr Mendinaro (Naro) Incha, have been working on a project to distribute free baby boxes to the parents of all newborn babies. It is expected to be rolled out in the next few weeks. Among those involved in the project is Dr Emma Kearney of Ennis Family Medical Centre. She has contributed to the initiative by helping to prepare an online information resource, which will be given to all new parents, along with their baby box, before they leave the hospital. This type of project, which was introduced …

HOUSEHOLDS in Clare will be paying more in Local Property Tax for next year than they have in the past two years. Members of Clare County Council have voted not to reduce the tax as they have done in previous years, meaning a 15% increase for households. The decision to collect the property tax at the full rate will result in €1.5 million in income for the local authority. Clare County Council CEO Pat Dowling commented that the people of County Clare will see “clear evidence” of the added value generated by the decision not to reduce the tax. Over a third of all properties in Clare, 36.5%, are in the lowest valuation band for the tax, with a 15% change resulting in an increase in their tax by €13.50 per year, or 26c a week. The next two valuation bands account for over a half of all properties with the change impacting these bands by €33.75 per year or …

Regular transfers of nurses from Ennis Hospital to cover staffing shortages at University Hospital Limerick has heightened fears about future downgrading. HSE Forum West chairman, Councillor Tom McNamara, has registered his concern about why nurses who are rostered for duty in Ennis Hospital are being requested to report for duty at UHL on an ongoing basis. At a forum meeting in Galway on Tuesday, he said, “This is giving out the wrong message about Ennis Hospital. Clare people are worried that Ennis Hospital is being downgraded by the fact that staff are being moved out of the hospital to deal with a situation in UHL. “The HSE needs to deal its staffing shortage in UHL as quickly as possible. I know that it is not easy to get additional staff but the go-ahead has been given for more recruitment,” he said. While Councillor McNamara acknowledged there is a lack of staff at UHL, he claimed it is creating the wrong …

THE “dangerous” lack of lighting at a crossroads in Kilmaley was highlighted at this week’s Ennis Municipal District meeting. Councillor Tom McNamara raised the matter in a motion and was told that the council does not have a community lighting scheme in place and has no means of funding the works. Councillor McNamara told the meeting that recent night-time funerals in Kilmaley had brought home the danger to the public in the area, where the two local roads meet the Ennis to Miltown Malbay road at Kilmaley. He said, in the past few months, since a funeral home opened there, it has been become obvious how dangerous the cross is. “In the interest of public safety, something will have to be done. In November and December, there were two night funerals and people couldn’t cross the road. The footpaths on the far side of the road are in an awful condition,” Councillor McNamara stated, adding, “I got more complaints about …