Tag Archives: Tom Tiernan

MORE than half a million euro is to be spent on improving footpaths in Ennis, from funding aimed at reducing the number of public liability claims being made against the local authority. Clare County Council has received a “significant” dividend of €2.371 million from Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances Ltd (IPB). The IPB requires that the council spend the money in a way that “will facilitate mitigation of risk, and by implication, reduce the incidences of public liability claims”. A total of €1.6 million of the funding has been earmarked for a footpath improvement programme throughout the county, with €508,000 of this to be spent in Ennis. This includes €112,140 to macadam 623 metres in length along the Tulla Road; €49,680 on concrete and concrete paving surfaces for Church Drive, Clarecastle and €48,000 on a concrete surface in Cloughleigh. Historical stone paving, costing €8,800, will be installed at Bank Place, along with concrete footpaths totalling €24,960. According to the council’s …

Apart for minor flooding in some costal areas and a power outage at Spanish Point, County Clare escaped lightly from Storm Eleanor, which swept the country last evening and late into the night. Clare County Council staff members were out early today (Wednesday) to clear debris from roads and deal with some fallen trees. Today, stormy conditions followed on the back of Eleanor. High tides, driven by strong gusting winds, made for dramatic scenes along many headlands, harbours and beaches. Again the council’s senior engineer Tom Tiernan asked members of the public to exercise care around piers and resort car parks.

Clare County Council is warning members of the public to avoid exposed coastal locations from this evening (Tuesday) through to tomorrow morning (Wednesday) due to forecast stormy conditions. The storm, named Eleanor under the Met Éireann / UK Met Office storm naming system, will move in off the Atlantic later this afternoon and will move very quickly across the country this evening. Southwest to west winds of mean speeds 65 to 80 km/h, gusting to 110 to 130 km/h., are expected. Met Éireann also is forecasting very high seas along the Clare coastline, including the Shannon Estuary, with a risk of coastal flooding. Tom Tiernan, senior engineer, Clare County Council, commented, “We are advising the public not to venture out unless necessary – particularly in coastal areas. Motorists are asked to be careful when driving and to avoid parking vehicles in close proximity to exposed coastal areas. Any coastal areas which have previously flooded are at risk and people in …

A CLOUD of gloom hung heavily over Clare County Council this week following the sudden death of senior engineer Sean Ward. The 63-year-old Abbeyfeale native, who moved to live in Sixmilebridge after joining the council in 2001, fell ill on Saturday and died unexpectedly last Monday morning. At his funeral mass, Bishop Emeritus Willie Walsh paid tribute to the major contribution that Mr Ward made to public service and to the local community, through his musical talents with the Sixmilebridge Folk Club. Musicians from throughout the county played various pieces in his memory during a moving and emotional ceremony attended by a large number of officials from Clare County Council and other local authorities where he previously worked. An accomplished accordion and concertina player, he could play a variety of instruments, including the fiddle, tin whistle and piano. Funeral goers were told that the deceased had expressed a wish to donate all of his instruments to his beloved folk club. …

Clare County Council consultants have completed investigations at Latoon Creek Bridge, which has been the subject of a weight restriction since late 2015. The local authority said it anticipates that repair work to the bridge, which is located between Newmarket-on-Fergus and Clarecastle on the old Ennis/Limerick road, will begin next month and will be completed during November. Tom Tiernan, senior engineer, Clare County Council explained, “Due to the complex nature of the construction of the bridge, specialist contractors with experience in investigation of similar structures conducted additional structural investigations, load assessments and sensitivity analysis. The result of their investigations, recently completed, is that the 3.5-tonne weight restriction can now be eased to 18 tonnes. This amended restriction, however, must remain in place until the repairs are carried out.” “The new restriction will be less onerous than that which has existed up to now,” he added. “From today (Monday) vehicles of up to 18 tonnes will be free to use the …

THE theft of village signage has been described as “epidemic” by local Councillor Pat Hayes, who highlighted that signs have been stolen in four villages in East Clare. Councillor Hayes said Feakle, Caher, Flagmount and Killanena have had signage taken. He said some thefts have occurred in recent weeks, while others were some time ago. He said it is not the directional signage, which is usually the common problem, but in this case it is the larger signs for the villages themselves. “It seems to be specific to this side of the county. Directional signposts are also missing. The GAA one in Caher was taken down and a couple of business ones were taken as well. It seems to be an epidemic for the last while. I would very much be appealing to the public out there. There might be huge value in those signs but it is the communities that put them up and maintain them. They are part …

CLARE County Council’s senior engineer, Tom Tiernan has admited that funding levels have “crashed downwards” in recent years, leading to local authorities having to “abandon tertiary roads”. Tom Tiernan commented that the entire road network needs to be in a good condition to facilitate the country’s economic recovery, saying current funding levels are not “sustainable”. He was speaking following the release last week of the National Oversight and Audit Commission Report, which found that Clare had the highest percentage of “severe structural defects” on tertiary roads in the country. However, Mr Tiernan stated that the figure presented in the report for Clare “isn’t necessarily representative” of the situation in the county. As outlined in The Clare Champion last week, the report looked at the standard of primary, secondary and tertiary roads. League tables were compiled, with criteria such as surface defects, structural distress and pavement defects all considered. According to the report, 22% of tertiary roads in Clare were found …

Motorists are bracing themselves for traffic disruption on one of Ennis’ busiest routes from this Saturday with the start of a week-long 24-hour road closure. Senior engineer with Clare County Council Tom Tiernan has described the upcoming closure on the Tulla Road to facilitate works by Irish Water as “probably one of the most punishing elements” of the county capital’s watermain rehabilitation project. However, he has insisted that the full closure of the road was the best possible option for both residents and those behind the project, which involves the replacement of leaking pipes. Contractor Ward & Burke Construction Ltd are carrying out the works, which will see the road closed from the roundabout on the Lifford Road to the east side of the Tulla Road Bridge on the Tulla Road. The road closure will be in place from this Saturday until Sunday, November 1 inclusive and diversions are in place. Speaking ahead of the closure, he acknowledged that residents …