There was an opportunity to get a sneak preview of the new 2014 Nissan Qashqai recently, when the car arrived at Dulick Motors for one day only, as part of a national tour in advance of the car’s January launch. While it’s clearly an evolution of the current Qashqai, up close, the new car is a lot more defined and seems to be sharper and more masculine as a result. The interior is a big step up from the old car, with higher quality materials and a fresh new look. As I reported last week, this new Qashqai features a whole host of up-to-the-minute technology, some representing a class first. Most buyers will choose a diesel, of course, with the option of a 1.5 or 1.6 litre unit. A competitive petrol option, a 1.2 litre DIG-T, will also be offered and for lower mileage or urban drivers, this could be an ideal choice. Deliveries will start early in 2014 and …

FOLLOWING his “rejection” by Fianna Fáil at the party’s West Clare Electoral Area convention on Monday, Councillor Tom Prendeville has claimed that he was approached immediately after the meeting and asked if he wanted to be added to the list of candidates. The sitting Kilrush Town Councillor refused to completely rule out running as an independent candidate, labelled Fianna Fáil a rural organisation, said the late Nelson Mandela wouldn’t have been successful at the convention and maintained that he was “shafted” by Fianna Fáil party strategists. Outgoing county councillors PJ Kelly (51 votes), Pat Keane (50) and Bill Chambers (32) were selected to run for the party in next year’s expanded West Clare constituency, which will elect eight councillors. This means that, as of now, Fianna Fáil will have no Kilrush town candidate in the field for the 2014 election. It has also emerged that there is no registered Fianna Fáil member within Kilrush town. Michael O’Neill (15), Tom Prendeville …

IN a year in which the county won two All-Ireland hurling titles, Clare still managed to record a profit of €59,289, according to the financial report that will be presented to delegates at next week’s annual convention, which takes place on Thursday, December 19. Income for the year amounted to €1,796,854, with expenditure coming to €1,737,565. Team expenses for the year amounted to €913,919 (€671,570 in 2012). This is an accumulative figure for all county teams and a breakdown for each team is not given. A breakdown of this figure shows that players’ travel expenses amounted to €324,365 (€267,842 in 2012); catering cost €199,541 (143,656 in 2012); medical physiotherapy and masseurs cost €99,835 (€86,353 last year); buses and overnights cost €61,001 (€53,255 in ’12); sportsgear, equipment and laundry cost €78,468 (€79,531 in ’12), while training facilities cost €23,197 (€20,856 last year). The team expenses figure includes provision for €100,000 for the senior hurlers’ holiday. There was a slight increase in …

HAZARDOUS chemicals removed by the army bomb disposal unit from a Shannon waste treatment plant could, if they had exploded, have caused major damage within a 1,000 metre radius, it has been claimed. Industrial buildings and offices at Smithstown Industrial Estate, part of the town centre and a section of the N18 motorway would have been in the line of fire. Clare County Council made the claim in a letter sent to the gardaí a few weeks prior to the December 1 joint army, garda and fire service exercise to dispose of materials from the Enva plant in Smithstown Industrial Estate. The council claims that “hazardous materials”, which had been stored at Enva, were classified as “high risk” with a “potential blast and fragmentation radius of 1,000 metres”. They included 36kg of Dinitrophenyl Hydrazine (DNPH) and 628kg of Cellulose Nitrate (CN), both of which are potentially explosive materials. The council letter noted the gardaí had “previously requested that this matter …

The magic of Christmas will come alive in the skies over Shannon for 3,000 lucky children. Ryanair, with the support of Shannon Airport, have decided to spread the Christmas cheer in an initiative to celebrate the recent agreement between the parties by offering free flights to meet Santa over the next two weekends. The initiative also celebrates Shannon’s first year as an independent entity, a year which has seen it make significant advances across a number of fronts, including stabilising passenger numbers and moving to growth mode for 2014. The free flights will operate on Saturdays and Sundays over this and the following weekend from Shannon Airport six times daily for 40 minutes each – enough time for the flights to get sufficiently airborne for Santa to jump on board from his sleigh and spread the festive cheer among the excited young passengers. The magical one-off opportunity will enable many children not alone to meet Santa some 15,000ft above sea …

ST Patrick’s Pipe Band will perform at a specially organised traditional music session in The Mills Tavern, O’Callaghan’s Mills on Saturday, with proceeds going towards their trip to the New York St Patrick’s Day Parade. Also known as the Tulla Pipe Band, St Patrick’s Pipe Band have been invited by the New York Clare Association to join them in celebrating their 125th anniversary at the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in New York. The fundraising concert takes place at 9pm on Saturday and Paula Carroll will be the MC. The event has been organised by Councillor Joe Cooney and Carmel Hall, whose son, David, is in the band. Speaking about the support that people are showing for the band, Pam O’Reilly PRO for St Patrick’s Pipe Band said, “It is amazing and wonderful for the band to realise that their years of service have not gone unnoticed and that everyone is behind the band”. “Just last week, the Tulla Vintage …

CLARE Accessible Transport recently changed its trading name to Clare Bus and has launched a 2014 calendar embracing the change. The transport company, which is based in Feakle but services all of Clare and South Galway, has launched the calendar as a means of getting the new name out there to the general public and also to help raise funds for the service. In doing so, it also aims to celebrate the work of local photographers and artists and features work by award-winning Clare Champion photographer John Kelly, Tim Moloney, Sean McInerney, Ruth O’Keefe and Linda Bonugli. Speaking about the initiative, Ger Hoey, chairperson of the board of Clare Bus, said this is the first time the company has produced a calendar and it is hoped it will not only create awareness but also raise funds to benefit service users. “The calendar was created to promote the new name Clare Bus but also to raise funds because we as a …

TULLA resident Jane Halloran Ryan was presented with the Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer of the Year award at a ceremony held in Limerick at the weekend. Born and raised in Connecticut, Jane’s Irish ancestral connections are in Clare, Cork, Sligo and Antrim. Having always had a keen interest in genealogy and family history, she became involved in the Ireland Reaching Out project in 2011. Speaking about the award, Jane said, “It’s great. I am delighted to be acknowledged but, at the same time, I have to be honest, all of us are great volunteers. The organisation has terrific volunteers working for it. I’m also delighted for Tulla and we joked at the event about it being another All-Ireland. It’s been a great year for us in Tulla and Ireland Reaching Out is a terrific project on so many levels. I think it will go from strength to strength with not only the heritage work but with tourism and with business …