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MORE than 80 jobs were shed at Shannon Airport in May of last year, when Aer Lingus closed its cabin crew base. The job losses were hugely controversial as the airline were major beneficiaries of State supports, but speaking at the relaunch of its transatlantic services, Aer Lingus Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty was unrepentant. “You don’t need me to remind you how challenging it has been over the last two years for the aviation sector and all of us who work in it. In Aer Lingus we had to take some difficult decisions, including the closure of our cabin crew base here in Shannon Airport. That was unfortunately necessary, it meant we had the right structure and cost base to reinstate our transatlantic services, starting today with Boston.” Shannon-New York was due to restart the following day, and Mr Moriarty said that there is going to be a very good level of connectivity to America. “Both routes will …

A US-bound Aer Lingus flight was forced to turn around off the west coast and return to Shannon Airport this afternoon amid concerns that an emergency exit door might not have been securely locked, reports Pat Flynn. Aer Lingus flight EI-111 Shannon to New York’s JFK Airport took off at 12.57pm however soon afterwards, the flight crew asked air traffic controllers for clearance to stop their climb. The Airbus A321-253 (Neo) jet had crossed the Clare coast over Quilty when the flight crew advised controllers they had a technical issue which they were working to resolve but added they might have to return to the airport. The crew also made contact with company engineers on the ground to seek assistance troubleshooting the issue. The crew reported they had received an “indication of an emergency exit door open”. After turning around and while the flight was descending towards Shannon, the flight crew told controllers that the indication had cleared and requested …

RATIONING of home heating oil and agri-diesel, as well as spiralling costs, are causing considerable anxiety according to Councillor Alan O’Callaghan. The Kilmurry man, who runs a busy fuel supply company, said that while home heating oil is limited to 500 litres, on Friday of last week, the price for that was more than €800. With price volatility prompted by the global economic fallout from the war Ukraine, there are no guarantees that prices will stabilise any time soon. For those using agri-diesel, rationing, costs and fuel quality are looming problems.  “These are times that we’ve never witnessed before,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “Prices might have been fluctuating a few cents over a couple of days, now they’re moving ten cents a day. It’s a very volatile market right now. For the supplier, the buyer and the distributor, it’s the luck of the draw. I delivered kerosene to a house on a Monday and, if that man had got …

SHANNON Airport’s summer schedule is getting off to a flying start with four destinations to the UK, US and Europe taking off within a 36-hour period on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, March 27 Aer Lingus services from Shannon to London Heathrow will see the return of the daily early morning 7.40am flight. This will mark the full restoration of Heathrow services, providing 20 services per week. At 10.55am that day passengers will see the return of the popular Ryanair service to Palma Mallorca which will operate three flights per week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays). Later that afternoon the first flight to Malta will depart Shannon. This new Ryanair service will operate twice weekly (Thursdays and Sundays). On Monday March 28th, the much-anticipated New York/Newark service with United Airlines will make a welcome return after almost two years, with services running seven days a week. All US bound passengers at Shannon will be able to avail of US preclearance ensuring …

A DEBATE on hate speech legislation has prompted a furious reaction from the Clare-based chairperson of The Irish Freedom Party.  Speaking in the Dáil, where the Justice Minister sought support for a measure to extend EU crimes to include hate crime and hate speech, Deputy Cathal Crowe was sharply critical of the party. “It practises hate messaging and it is how it operates,” he said. “Its members message on topics of gender, transgender and immigration. They are the issues on which they campaign. It can be argued it is a political party with a right to represent and speak, but it does not have any elected mandate in this country. “If its members believe they have a right to speech, they will have less of a right to make their statements when we sign up to this because any form of rallying people or inciting hatred in that regard will be illegal.” In a statement following the debate, Michael Leahy …

DERELICTION in the centre of Kilrush is to be tackled, following representations by Councillor Ian Lynch.  The Independent Council member raised the issue at the West Clare Municipal District meeting earlier this month when he highlighted the state of Moore Street in the heart of the town. He asked that the area be considered for inclusion on a suitable scheme to address dereliction and also that overhead electricity lines be put underground, if possible.  In a written response, Mairead Corbett, Administrative Officer in the Housing section stated: “The Vacant Homes Office is currently undertaking a study of Moore Street, Kilrush with a view to identifying vacant properties with potential for redevelopment.  Assessment is ongoing on a number of properties to determine their potential and decide on future action”. A second response was supplied in relation to the electricity cables. Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) under took to contact the ESB in relation to their requirements relating to the possible …

AN ENNIS dealership has been named as the Clare winner of a new motor industry award for the promotion of electric vehicles. Western Garages on the Quin Road in the county town is the Banner nominee for the inaugural EV Dealership Awards. The dealership is now on the shortlist for a national award initiated by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to recognise and reward excellence in the promotion and sales of electric vehicles (EV) in Ireland. Car dealerships are a vital part of the transition to clean and efficient transport. SEAI wants to recognise and award those dealerships who are working to increase consumers’ understanding and experience of EVs and their uptake on Irish roads. Commenting on the announcement Declan Meally, Director of Business, Public Sector and Transport at SEAI said, “SEAI recognises that EV car dealerships and their staff are a key set of enablers to EV uptake. I congratulate this year’s winners whose commitment and dedication are …

A CLARE woman armed with an air gun and posing as an escort robbed a man in Ennis after falsely claiming she was a garda, a court has heard. Clara Chapman (27) carried out the robbery of €300 during the incident that occurred in a residential area of the town in November 2019. Chapman, with a former address at Church View apartments, Main Street, Miltown Malbay and with previous addresses in Ennis, pleaded guilty to a single count of robbery. At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Eoin Garavan sentenced Chapman to two and a half years in prison, saying the offence “warrants a custodial sentence, clearly”. The judge described the robbery, which occurred around 2pm, as a “nasty, planned and ruthlessly executed crime”. In evidence, detective garda Niamh O’Malley said that on November 21, 2019 a 36-year-old man contacted Chapman after viewing her profile on the Locanto website. Det O’Malley said the man was looking at adverts for “young Irish escorts” …