By Peter O’Connell HE doesn’t look 90 and can’t quite believe that he is. Tom Whelan, originally from Doonbeg, has been living and working in O’Dea’s Road, Kilrush for several decades. He has shod thousands of horses since training as a farrier with Barry’s in Kilrush many decades ago. These days, Tom still tips away in his forge across from his house. “Tis a pity,” he laughs when the 90-year figure is mentioned. “Hard work. A lad that sits down gets seized up. It’s like a car or a tractor that’s idle. It seizes up,” Tom replied when asked how he was in such fettle. “I was always on them,” he added, pointing to his finely polished work boots. Tom has been around horses since he was knee high to a foal. When he was growing up in rural West Clare, everybody had a horse. They were essential. “Everyone had a horse,  a pony and an ass. Creamery, ploughing and …

THERE is strong speculation this week that a new deal between Shannon Airport and Ryanair is about to be announced, which could deliver a number of new routes and an extra 350,000 passengers next year. Ryanair has scaled back business at Shannon dramatically since 2008 and, on several occasions, placed the blame on the controversial air travel tax. In Tuesday’s Budget it was announced that the tax will be scrapped from the start of next April. On Wednesday, the low cost airline said it would increase its Irish business by at least one million passengers next year. After the Budget announcement, Ryanair outlined its plans. “Ryanair highlighted that since the travel tax was introduced in January 2009, traffic at the main Irish airports had declined from 30.5m passengers in 2008 to 23.5m in 2012. Ryanair believes that much of this traffic can now be recovered thanks to the abolition of the travel tax, which makes Ireland a more competitive and …

CLARE County Council has identified a proposed sports complex in Kilrush as the county’s primary candidate for a possible €58,882 grant from a new initiative called Sport Nation. Kilrush town manager Anne Haugh revealed details of the grant application at last week’s town council meeting. Kilrush Town Council had previously and unsuccessfully applied for funding, under the Sports Capital Grant, for the Cooraclare Road sports complex. Details of the proposed complex were first announced at a Kilrush Town Council meeting in June 2011. The complex is to be located on the Cooraclare Road, where the ESB Moneypoint sports facilities are situated and on adjoining land owned by the Department of Education. At the 2011 meeting, Kilrush Town Council heard that 12 months of talks had culminated in a lease agreement between the council and landowners, the ESB and Department of Education. If the current funding application is successful, it could kick-start the complex, which has yet to receive sufficient public …

A bizarre fixtures wrangle, involving Kilmaley and Tulla GAA Clubs, was resolved on Wednesday afternoon following an emergency meeting of the Clare GAA Fixtures Committee. After their 5-12 to 0-20 defeat to Tulla in Sunday’s Group 1 Senior Hurling Championship fixture, Kilmaley left Clarecastle believing they had finished third in the group, while Tulla were convinced they had finished bottom, on scoring difference. Tubber, Kilmaley and Tulla all finished on two points in the group, which was topped by Newmarket. Tubber qualified for Sunday’s quarter-final against Sixmilebridge on the basis that they had the best scoring difference of the three tied clubs. Based on scoring difference, Kilmaley were third and Tulla fourth. This system has applied for the last number of seasons in both the county hurling and football championships. The Clare Champion learned that the basis for a decision made on Monday was that by virtue of making the last eight on scoring difference, Tubber were removed from the …

A DECOMMISSIONED prefab in St Finnachta’s National School in Sixmilebridge has become a centre of learning once more but for a more mature body of students. The single-room structure is now the base for a Men’s Shed where each Tuesday night a group of men gather to work on projects or simply enjoy the craic and camaraderie. One of the founding members, Tom 0’Dea from Kilmurry explains, “The Men’s Shed, to borrow that overused tagline, ‘does exactly what is says on the tin’. It is a communal shed, a place where men can work together or individually on projects such as mechanics or woodwork, a place where men can enjoy the craic and a joke in a spirit of comradeship. “It’s a shed where you can ask for help if you need to, and it’s a place where you might have sound advice or a skill to teach others.” The Sixmilebridge Shed is a community-based organisation which is open to …

Audi brand ambassador, Kathryn Thomas, recently launched the 2014 Audi Future Now Sales Event. This scheme allows Audi customers to avail of a number of upgrade packages on new Audi orders for 2014 delivery, with savings of up to €7,000 available. A range of PCP finance packages are also available, with the A1 coming in from as little as €229 per month. Any customer financing their new Audi through PCP will also receive a free 3 year Audi Service Pack. Audi A1 customers can enjoy savings of €5,705, by taking advantage of an enhanced specification pack, comprising of S Line exterior, LED rear lights, black roof or roof arch and 17” alloy wheels. A4 buyers can specify 17” 10 spoke alloy wheels, xenon lights with DRL, Nappa leather and MMI navigation for just €1,590. The A6 S-line now comes with full LED headlights, 19” 7 spoke alloys, NMI navigation and Valcona leather for an extra premium of €1,995, representing a …

SHANNON Airport needs to be able to get access to €100 million in funding to be competitive, its CEO Neil Pakey claimed at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport on Wednesday. He said the target of achieving 2.5 million passengers by 2021 is very possible. Elements of Shannon’s cost base are “very high”, he claimed and he indicated that management will have to work with the trade unions at the airport to align them with competitors. Shannon was discussed by various interests at Wednesday morning’s meeting, with Senators Martin Conway and Tony Mulcahy and Deputies Timmy Dooley and Pat Breen present, as well as representatives of SIPTU, Kevin Thompstone of Shannon Chamber and Clare county manager, Tom Coughlan, among others. In his presentation to the meeting, Mr Pakey said Shannon needs access to €100m. “We recommend that the borrowing facility limit for the group be set at €100m to allow Shannon Group to deliver on the recommendations …

By Dan Danaher CHARLIE, the Great Dane who became an international hero after a story in last week’s Clare Champion, is to be honoured with a national award. The two-year-old gentle giant, who has captured the hearts and imagination of people around the world, for his ability to detect when a Killaloe toddler is going to have a seizure, will be officially recognised by the Irish Great Dane (IGD) Club at a ceremony in Dublin. The IGD club, which is affiliated to the Irish Kennel Club, will present Charlie with a national merit award in the National Show Centre, possibly next March. This is just one example of the phenomenal response to last week’s Clare Champion story where Arabella Scanlan outlined the dog’s ability to detect her daughter Brianna’s frequent seizures, up to 20 minutes before the start of each episode. Following a week of national and international headlines, Arabella told The Clare Champion she is overwhelmed with all the …