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THIS Sunday the 7.40am Shannon-Heathrow flight will resume, marking the full restoration of the crucial London services. The following day the Shannon-Newark service will also return after almost two years, with flights set to operate seven days a week. Ryanair services to Palma and Malta are also beginning on Sunday, with the airport’s summer schedule kicking in. Shannon currently offers 26 destinations including options to Budapest, Corfu, Marseille, Barcelona, Faro, Lanzarote and Edinburgh and more. The full resumption of the Heathrow service is very welcome news for Shannon, as the London airport is one of the most significant global hubs, offering onward connectivity to a huge range of destinations. While Shannon has connectivity to other London airports, the Heathrow service is much more important to local tourism interests and Ennis hotelier Sean Lally said that its return is hugely welcome. “It’s probably the most important route in and out of Shannon Airport. Not alone is it a hub for the …

HUNDREDS of people fleeing war-ravaged Ukraine have received a cead míle fáilte in North Clare as community groups, organisations and local representatives have come together to ensure a co-ordinated welcome for the new arrivals. More than 500 Ukrainians have arrived in Lisdoonvarna with a further 100 staying in Ballyvaughan in local hotels. This isn’t the first time that Lisdoonvarna has played host to the people of Ukraine as the town has fond memories of welcoming the Ukrainian Special Olympics delegation in 2003. More than 200 Ukrainian refugees who are now staying in the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna this week called for world leaders to stop the war. The refugees who arrived at the hotel last week have called for peace saying, “All Ukrainians and all people of the world, one peace now. Please stop this senseless war. World leaders help us to stop this war. Kindness and compassion to all humanity.” Hotel owner Marcus White told The Clare Champion that …

LAHINCH’S Rachel O’Mahony is urging the public to support vital cancer research, by supporting Daffodil Day this Friday, March 25. Rachel was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. As part of her treatment, she took part in a clinical trial for a cancer drug. Today, 14 years after her breast cancer diagnosis, Rachel is back to full fitness and health. She is a patient advocate for research that looks at new ways to prevent, detect or treat cancer, including the world-class research funded by the Irish Cancer Society, the largest funder of cancer research in Ireland. Originally from Cork, she has lived in Lahinch with her husband Declan for the last 25 years. When she was struck by cancer, it was a huge shock, as she was young and fit. “I was 38 at the time and it was a bolt from the blue. Not that I ever took my health for granted, my Mum was a nurse and we …

LESS than six months ago aviation entrepreneur Pádraig Ó Céidigh was appointed chairman of the board of Shannon Group to widespread approval, but he resigned on Wednesday due to mounting frustration. When approached on Wednesday Mr Ó Céidigh declined to comment following his sudden exit after such a short period of time, but other sources have said he was quite disillusioned. It is understood that there were differences of opinion between the new chairman and other senior figures attached to Shannon Group, all of whom were in place before his appointment. One person said that Mr Ó Céidigh felt he was “frozen out” since his appointment and was having difficulty pursuing changes that he felt were important for Shannon. Mr Ó Céidigh was only appointed in late September of last year, and while he was clearly enthusiastic at the outset, his tenure has proved to be an extremely short one and yet again the process of finding a replacement must …

FOR the first time since 2019 the people of Shannon were able to come out to see their town’s St Patrick’s Day parade. Derek Clune of the Love Shannon Community Council said that it had been a great success. “I think it was the biggest parade we’ve had in Shannon and the biggest turnout of spectators and floats that we’ve ever had. “It was a brilliant day and everything went so well. Everyone was really happy and we got some brilliant feedback. Everyone enjoyed the day, the weather was lovely, so it all went well.” He said that there was far greater interest given the restrictions that dogged life over the last few years. “There’s no doubt about it, there was a huge amount of interest because of the last two years. Because of that the turnout was bigger than normal, we were expecting that. Everyone was mad to go, the turnout was huge, bigger than we expected and I’d …

DIFFICULTY in sourcing staff is proving a persistent problem for Clare businesses, especially in the hospitality sector. Shannon restaurant Tea and Tones has had to close on Mondays and Tuesdays of late, due to the issue, although the closure is set to be confined to Mondays in the future. Proprietor Elaine Donnellan said she has been left with no choice because it is so hard to get a chef. “I just can’t get one anywhere. I’ve advertised, I’m 30 years working in the industry and I’m always ringing people who I worked with over the years and you can’t get anyone.” She said that in some cases experienced chefs left the sector during Covid, and got jobs in factories with much more social hours. “They have their weekends off and they say never again will they go back cheffing. We’ve rang LIT and there’s nobody, there doesn’t seem to be anyone coming through.” In the past Elaine worked at Carrygerry …

PLANNING permission was granted for 605 new residential units in Clare last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. Of that number 45 were apartments, with the remainder being for houses and should all these developments be built, they would accommodate around 1600 people, going by the average household size recorded in the last census. It would be a welcome boost given the housing shortage in Clare at the moment, but Councillor Joe Cooney said that the rising costs of materials is a huge problem now. “Things are busy, but they have quietened a bit and that’s because of the cost of materials. The cost of materials has simply gone crazy. Unfortunately it’s going to prevent young people from building houses with the way it’s gone.” He said that in the last 12 months certain materials have come close to 100% increases in price, while others have seen a 30-50% jump. Despite the huge increases, he says it …

A LARGE group of Americans visited the Cross of Spancilhll this week, part of a folk group from Michigan that travels to places they know of from songs. Local man Michael Brohan said the visit shows the extent of the reach of the song. “People know the song from the likes of Christy Moore and the Pogues and the great Robbie McMahon probably made it famous. It was a poem in the beginning, people think of it as a song but it was a poem at the start by an emigrant who went to America. “Robbie McMahon brought it to life in song and since then it’s been taken up by a lot of famous Irish singers, Christy Moore, the Pogues, the Dubliners, everyone sings it, it’s probably the most recognised ballad from Ireland. “Anywhere I’ve been around the world when people have a sing song Spancilhill is one of the first songs that come to mind.” Michael said that …