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FIONA Staunton has given her heart and soul to scouting in Ireland and this week she reflected on the life changing effect it has had on her. On the day when scouts past and present gathered to celebrate the opening of the new scout hall in Ennis, some of the biggest cheers and warmest tributes greeted Fiona as she accepted a special award for a lifetime of service. “I’m humbled and I’m emotional. It’s nice to get an acknowledgment from your friends and your peers and people who mean a lot to me. We’ve put an awful lot of work and effort into this, particularly over the past two years”, Fiona told The Clare Champion. Now chairperson of Ennis Scouts, Fiona’s links with the organisation go back to a time when women were not allowed to be involved. But her love of the great outdoors and the support of fellow scouts would see Fiona go onto become the first female …

A DECISION on funding for the long-awaited Inis Cealtra Visitor Experience Centre is expected to be made in the coming weeks, Deputy Michael McNamara has been told in Dáil Éireann. The Independent TD questioned Minister Heather Humphreys as to when there would be news on a major funding application made by Clare County Council. A Category 1 application was made, in April, by the Council to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF). Deputy McNamara sought a statement from the Minister for Rural and Community Development in relation for the timeframe on that funding decision.  The Fine Gael minister told the Scariff TD that she understood that the application in question was made to the fourth round of funding, which closed at the end of April. “My Department received 42 applications to this call, together seeking funding of over €149 million,” Minister Humphreys said. “I understand that an application was received for the project referred to by the Deputy.” She …

AN APPLICATION for a major private housing scheme in Tulla is the subject of several objections, over issues including the density of the proposed 60-home development. Wiskin Property Developments is seeking permission for 15 detached houses; 36 semi-detached houses and nine terraced houses on a site of just over three hectares at Loughaun South. To date, four submissions have been sent to planners by locals living close to the site, and a representation has been made by Councillor Joe Cooney. A submission from one local couple has raised questions over the density of the development, which they maintained should only be eight to 12 units per hectare, according to the current zoning. Wiskin Developments has proposed to build 18.3 units per hectare. The submission also questioned the adequacy of parking provision and potential disturbance and intrusion from additional traffic. Another resident noted a high level of undeveloped residential land within the Tulla settlement boundary, where planning permission exists for 108 …

CALLS are being made to revitalise the inks between West Clare and North Western France, on the 40th anniversary of the Kilrush-Plouzané twinning initiative.  Councillor Ian Lynch proposed that the local authority would reinvigorate the long-standing connection with the Britanny town, which shares historical links to St Senan. The Independent member outlined to the recent meeting of the West Clare Municipal District (WCMD) that the twinning had been established in 1982, under Kilrush Town Council’s auspices. Links between the two towns had been unearthed in the late 1970s by a Breton historian who was looking into the history of Plouzané. The settlement, close to the major French city of Brest, looked at the origin of the name ‘Plouzané’, which means ‘church of Zane’. He then established that Zane was the Irish monk, Senan, whose home was Scattery Island. St Senan established churches in Cornwall and Brittany  “As this would be the 40-year anniversary, now is the right time to reinvigorate the twinning,” …

FUTUREPROOF Clare has called for a public inquiry into seven payments totalling €4,103,625 by Shannon LNG since 2009 to Kerry County Council for a development that now looks unlikely to be built on the banks of the Shannon Estuary in view of a new government review. A new controversy has emerged concerning plans to develop a €650m liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for the Shannon Estuary between Tarbert and Ballylongford, which have been lodged to An Bord Pleanála. Last December, the entire 600-acre site of the proposed LNG terminal strategic public land in North Kerry was sold by the Shannon Group State Body to Shannon LNG for €25 million. Shannon LNG previously had an ‘option to purchase’ agreement on the site, which was agreed with Shannon Development in 2006. The project to build a major gas terminal, importing frozen gas and liquefying it then feeding it onto the Shannon Foynes gas pipeline is almost 20 years old. Shannon LNG has …

“It’s safe to say that no Clareman in modern history has made the same impact on the country as Michael Cusack did.” – Brendan Vaughan, 1984 THE great Clare GAA man that was Brendan Vaughan was chairman of the Munster Council when he uttered those words in Centenary Year as the GAA — locally in Clare, provincially and nationally celebrated 100 years since Michael Cusack had his famous meeting in Thurles that started the association that has now wrapped itself around the world. If he were still alive this week as the GAA marks the 175th anniversary of Michael Cusack’s birth, he’d repeat those words to anyone who was listening, or wasn’t listening for that matter, just because the GAA founder’s impact was that great, far-reaching and beyond any of the wildest dreams he could have had that November 1 day in Hayes’ Hotel that started it all. In the words of An Bráthair Liam Ó Caithnia, the author of …

AS A decision is awaited on proposals to grant a licence for mineral prospecting in East Clare, a new song and music video has been launched to highlight concerns about mining.  Keep Tulla Untouched, which is made up of landowners in the affected townlands around Tulla and Bunratty Upper, joined forces with TAU and the Drones of Praise to launch a track featuring Dempsey and Clannad’s Pól Brennan.   The video for ‘Eist le Ceol ón Chré’, includes Dempsey and Brennan, as well as nine-year-old Joris and seven-year-old Thuan Ligtvoet. The boys are sons of founder members of Keep Tulla Untouched. The video takes inspiration from a line in the song, ‘It’s a dream for the children’, and features Dempsey dressed as a mystical warrior figure, calling on people to protect the land. “The video is beautiful,” said Jacintha van Roij of Keep Tulla Untouched. “It was shot in Leitrim, where our friends are protecting 47 townlands from gold mining. …

THE opening of the new €500,000 hall secures the future of scouting in Ennis and further enhances the group’s international reputation. That’s according to deputy leader of Ennis Scouts, John Egan, who has thanked the local community for their support of the project. At Saturday’s official opening, John said the facility starts a new chapter in the history of Ennis Scouts. “It’s fabulous to have it. There is a long tradition of scouting in Ennis. Today was like a family reunion. It was great to have everyone involved, from the youth members and all the people who have given their lives to scouting in Ennis. “It doesn’t matter if you are in scouting for a day or a lifetime, we appreciate the help that you give,” John told The Clare Champion. Ennis Scouts currently caters for 150 members and the new hall has already seen the group host scouts from across Europe. John said, “That’s about at our capacity with …