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VOLUNTEERS working on a number of Clare beaches and waterside locations at the weekend picked up over 2.5 tonnes of litter between them. Clean Coasts, which organised the big beach clean-up between September 16 and 18 said it received overwhelming support and commitment from Clare volunteers and communities. Twenty-five groups banded together to carry out clean-up events removing the litter over the weekend. Among these groups, Clean Coasts volunteers were joined by Spanish Point Community Group, Brothers of Charity, Cappa Community Group, Scariff National School, Fanore Community Group, Ballvaughan Community Development Group/Tidy Towns, Ennistymon Tidy Towns and Connolly Tidy Village and other households, groups and individuals. These groups, tackled litter in several locations, including Spanish Point, Whitestrand Miltown Malbay, Cappa, Scariff town, Fanore, Bishops Quarter, Ennistymon River Region, Connolly Village and more. Clean Coasts officer Dara Dever joined a group of volunteers in Seafield who carried out a litter pick and marine litter survey. The event was such a success …

Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport have been shortlisted for a National Age Friendly Award. Both airports became the first airports in the world to be recognised as Age Friendly, endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in June of this year. The airports have now jointly been shortlisted for the Age Friendly Transport Award which recognises the vital difference that availability to good quality, easily accessible, user friendly and reliable transport options can make to an older person. The awards, which will be held in Dromoland Castle, will be the first Age Friendly Awards held since 2019 due to the impact of the pandemic, and will be hosted by Clare County Council. CEO of The Shannon Airport Group, Mary Considine said: “Making the passengers journey as easy as possible is at the core of everything we do here at Shannon Airport. Our team worked hard to get Shannon Airport recognised as one of the first Age Friendly Airports in …

THERE were 27 camper vans parked on the green at Carrigaholt one morning during the summer, along with a number of tents. With this in mind, at last week’s meeting of West and North Clare, members of Clare County Council, Councillor Gabriel Keating called for toilet facilities, similar to those provided in Doolin car park, to be installed there. He said that at the moment Carrigaholt is “ticking all the boxes” for the provision of a wastewater treatment plant, but he said installing portable toilets in the interim would be very positive. In a written reply to his motion, Senior Executive Engineer Alan Kenneally acknowledged that the area is becoming increasingly popular with visitors. “While Carrigaholt may not have the visitor numbers of Doolin, the village is becoming increasingly popular with tourists, helped by its location on the Wild Atlantic Way and its Green Coast beach.” However, he said that there are a number of difficulties with putting in place …

CHAIRMAN of the Mike McTigue Memorial Group Nicholas Rynne is a grand-nephew of the world champion and said he was aware of the fighter from a fairly young age. “There used to be a picture of him in the old Flan’s bar in Ennis, my father would often be asked about him as well. “We became more aware after the book about him came out, A Bloody Canvas: The Mike McTigue Story, written by Andrew Gallimore. We started to get more inquisitive as we grew up,” said Nicholas. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the memorial to McTigue. The GoFundMe has a target of raising €20,000 and will be the main source of funding, with one or two other local fundraisers set to take place also. On the idea for the memorial, he said, “Kevin Rynne and myself were talking about three years ago and we decided that we should do something for the centenary …

THE water supply in west Clare has gone “beyond breaking point”, a meeting of local councillors heard. Councillor Gabriel Keating put forward a motion at the recent meeting of west and North councillors asking that Irish Water, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the County Council resolve the “long standing frequent bursts and outages due to the poor condition of the asbestos watermain situated in the raised bog rampart on the N67 south of Doonbeg Village.” He said that the N67 south of Doonbeg is deteriorating and is a health and safety hazard, as well as “a regular inconvenience to the residents of the area due to the frequency of bursts over a number of years”. Councillor Keating said that dealing with the issue every time there is a leak is costly, even if an overall project requires a good deal of funding. “I’d love to know how much each leak costs,” he mused. He said that people are left without water …

A FOOTPATH or not a footpath, that is the question in Kilmihil. A meeting of North and West Clare councillors last week heard a motion from Cillian Murphy calling for the installation of a footpath along the Main Street of the village, from the entrance to the People’s Park to beyond the HSE centre in the village In a written reply, however, senior executive engineer Alan Kennelly said that there actually is a footpath in place, though he acknowledged there were “issues” with it. “There is a footpath in place on the southern side of Main Street Kilmihil, between the People’s Park and the HSE health centre. “The footpath lacks definition in places as there are several accesses crossing, and houses / premises are of differing set back distances. “There is also an ESB pole right in the middle of one narrow section of the footpath – which impedes access.” Councillor Murphy said that the “critical words” in the reply …

ENNIS hospital is looking to engage with volunteers to welcome patients and visitors to the hospital. The hospital is looking for volunteers to be an ambassador for the facility in Ennis to carry out the following: Welcome visitors to the hospital; offer assistance; assist with wayfinding to various wards, clinics, and departments; walk with hospital visitors to their location if necessary; request wheelchairs on behalf of patients. At present this is a morning service with a minimum commitment of three hours per week. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Ennis hospital on 065 6824464 or email UHLPals@hse.ie for more details.

A MAN who died when the microlight aircraft he was piloting crashed near Miltown Malbay on Sunday evening has been named locally as Michael Flynn. Mr Flynn, a plumber who is understood to be in his 60s and well known in the local area, lost his life after the aircraft crashed at around 4.45pm in a field off the Ballard Road about a kilometre from Miltown Malbay. The local community has been shocked by the tragedy and are rallying around the Flynn family, says Chair of the West Clare Municipal District Councillor Shane Talty. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Michael Flynn at this time. This is a tragic and sudden loss and a difficult time for his family,” said Councillor Talty. “The community, friends, and neighbours will have them in their thoughts and try and help them to get through what is a difficult experience. “This is a very close knit community, he was very well …