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FRESH efforts are being made to have a large telecommunications tower erected in the village of Quin, after a bid to erect one in an archaeologically sensitive part of the village was turned down earlier this year. Vantage Towers has just lodged a new application for a site in the townland of Quingardens. Permission is currently being sought for a 30m structure; one that would be considerably higher than the original lattice tower the company had attempted to erect at Quinville South. Original plans for a 24m lattice were submitted in September 2021, but refused by both the Council and An Bord Pleanála, after a campaign of opposition from local residents and community groups. Both the local authority and the appeals board found that the structure would have an adverse effect on the character of the Quin Architectural Conservation Area (ACA), and would detract from and injure the visual amenities of the area. An Bord Pleanála also ruled that the …

THE chief executive of Clare County Council has rebuffed a bid by Clare GAA to have “a large area of land” at Clarecastle near Ennis rezoned for housing. As part of its bid, the management committee of Clare GAA employed KPMG to make a submission requesting that lands currently zoned for recreation with a smaller area of land to the north of the site zoned as ‘car parks’ around Clare GAA’s HQ at Clareabbey, Clarecastle, be rezoned for housing. Any rezoning from ‘recreation’ to ‘residential’ would greatly inflate the value of the lands which is mainly made up of a GAA pitch. As part of the consultation concerning the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029, KPMG presented the demand for housing in Clare and the study area along with an analysis of planning permissions in the pipeline. Making the case for the rezoning of the Clare GAA owned Clareabbey site, KPMG contended that if current trends of inactivity continue, the …

A CLARE councillor has railed against what he calls discrimination against small farmers and their families. Councillor PJ Kelly said that new regulations which he said are being introduced because members of the Oireachtas “who were asleep or half asleep and let through legislation that they didn’t understand” have the potential to be very harmful for small farmers. “Under the new regulations, up to 90% of the farmers in West Clare, if we adopt the County Development Plan, will not be recognised as farmers, because they are under the limit of 20 hectares, which is 49.42 acres, say 50 acres,” Councillor Kelly pointed out. “In other words the priviliged will have 50 acres, their sons and daughters will be recognised as the sons and daughters of farmers and get the benefits accordingly. “Those who have less than 50 acres will not be recognised as the progeny of farmers anymore,” said Councillor Kelly. He said there had been a “stealth move” …

A FATHER and son have narrowly avoided jail for their role in a chaotic late night farm yard scene compared by a judge to something from the Wild West. At Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, Judge Mary Larkin imposed prison terms on Denis Waters (53) and his son, Brian Waters (25) after they confronted Gardai with a pitch fork and a calving jack during a late night incident at Derreen, Tullycrine near Kilrush on October 26 last year. Judge Larkin imposed a six-month prison term on Denis Waters and a three-month prison term on his son, Brian. However, Judge Larkin imposed community service orders in lieu of the prison terms after the Probation Service deemed both father and son suitable for community work. Judge Larkin has ordered Denis Waters to carry out 160 hours community work and Brian Waters 120 hours community work in lieu of the prison terms. Judge Larkin said that Denis Waters “has primary responsibility” for the …

WELL-known Ennis chamber choir, Cantare, are practising hard these days under the very expert baton of choir director, Michael Hennessy with their sights set on competing in the upcoming City of Derry International Choir Festival. The festival is taking place from October 19 to 23 and features a range of singing activities and performances for everyone in a wide variety of venues around Derry and its environs. Cantare will perform against a host of national and international competitors on the afternoon of Saturday, October 22 in the Millennium Forum in the historic walled city. Choirs will travel to Derry from as far afield as Estonia, Sweden and the US, and from closer to home including Dublin and Galway. According to Michael, “It’s great to have the opportunity to compete, to have a Clare choir perform in such a renowned competition. All the members have worked exceptionally hard over the last number of months – I’m confident we can hold our …

SHANNON Airport is giving away a family trip of a lifetime worth €2,500 to celebrate the upcoming ‘World Kindness Day’. The airport is giving away the all-expenses trip to Disneyland Paris for one lucky family in what it calls a bid to “bring a little magic to a family of four”. The prize, which is worth €2,500, consists of return flights to Paris from Shannon for a family of four, free parking at Shannon Airport, two-day passes for all the family to Disneyland Paris, a three-night stay at the 4-star Grand Magic Hotel, which includes free shuttle rides, just 8 minutes away from the theme park, and transfers from Orly Airport to the hotel. The airport has the bucket-list trip up for grabs on its social media channels from today ahead of World Kindness Day next month. Launching the prize, Mary Considine, CEO, The Shannon Airport Group said, “To coincide with World Kindness Day on November 13, we have decided …

ONE person has been airlifted to hospital while three children were transported by road ambulance following a traffic collision in West Clare this morning. Gardaí have confirmed that the main N67 Kilrush to Kilkee road will remain closed for a number of hours following the crash. The incident, involving a car and a van, occurred at the junction at Lisdeen Church at around 9.30am. Emergency services were quickly alerted. National Ambulance Service paramedics and Gardaí responded to the incident along with fire crews from Kilkee and Kilrush stations. The Cork-based charity-funded Irish Community Air Ambulance was also requested to attend the scene. Fire crews had to use specialist equipment to cut the roof off the car so they could safely access and remove the injured driver. Once assessed and stabilised, paramedics and fire crews carried the casualty to the helicopter. The woman was airlifted to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. Three young children, who were travelling in the car, were …

THE ability of Clarecastle’s coastal flood barrage, built in the middle of the last century, to protect Ennis and its surroundings needs to be examined “urgently” a local councillor has insisted. Councillor Johnny Flynn has urged the local authority to prepare a report on the barrage in light of the current “climate crisis”, while renewing his call that the critical infrastructure be moved. Senior Engineer Sean Lenihan has acknowledged that the barrage is a “key piece of infrastructure” saying the benefits of Ennis’ flood defence schemes “absolutely depends on a fully functioning and optimally fit for purpose barrage.” The monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard that the council are in the process of commissioning engineers to prepare a brief for the appointment of experts to carry out a structural assessment of the barrage. Speaking at the meeting Councillor Flynn outlined he was “very concerned” about the historic barrage which was designed and build in the mid 20th century …