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A request for traffic lights be installed at a busy junction in Shannon will not be granted, writes Owen Ryan. At a meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Gerry Flynn requested the lights for Bóthar Droim/Bóthar na Rinne and the entrance to the Town Centre. He also asked that the existing pedestrian lights be located at the junction. In a written reply, Senior Executive Engineer Tom Mellett remarked that government and mobility policy seeks to encourage more people to choose to walk or cycle and reduce unnecessary car use. This, he said, aimed to help create a high quality urban environment that promotes healthy lifestyles and creates additional footfall in our town centres. To support this, he noted a range of funding opportunities have emerged including Active Travel, Town Centre First Policy, URDF. “Shannon has been included under Active Travel funding for a mobility plan,” said Mr Mellet. “This will explore modes of transport, desire lines for walking and cycling …

A SHANNON councillor has requested the installation of fencing at a site in the town to combat anti-social behaviour, writes Owen Ryan. Councillor Gerry Flynn put forward a motion asking that the County Council “clean up the area surrounding the pump house in Drumgeely, located adjacent to the river walk and Drumgeely housing”. He also request fencing be put in place around the pump house “to deter further illegal dumping of waste and anti-social activity”. His motion also stated, “The restoration of the local footpath that links on to the river walk would be helpful in the rerouting of pedestrians away from the pump house.” During the debate he acknowledged a lot of the clean-up work has been done, but that a few bits are left and there is still some vegetation. He also said that fencing at the pump house is needed to deal with “illegal activity and anti social behaviour there”. In a written reply, Senior Executive Engineer …

A NEW funding stream for works on former national roads will be exploited by the local authority for an upgrade of the old N18, writes Jessica Quinn. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard calls by Councillor Pat Daly for an upgrade of the road from Kelly’s Corner out to Cois na hAbhaine on the Gort Road. Barry Conway, A/Senior Executive Engineer, responded, “In 2021 the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport introduced a new funding stream which allows local authorities to apply for funding to resurface the former national road network. “Funding has been sought by this office for the former national roads in the district including the R458 Gort Road (formerly the N18). “Members will be updated in the coming months as soon as the 2022 grants have been awarded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.” Councillor Daly welcomed the response, saying when the funding is available he would like to see some works done …

BARRING further public health crises, the Ennis Book Club Festival will have in-person events on the first weekend in March. One of these will be entitled Motherhood, Destiny and Choices: Irish and American debuts asking tough questions, to be held at St Columba’s Church on the afternoon of March 5. Among the speakers will be Galway based Edel Coffey, whose first novel Breaking Point, has just come out. It tells the story of Susannah, a working mother, pulled in different directions each day, working as a doctor, researcher and professor as well as being a wife and mother. One frantic morning, with a disrupted routine and a work emergency, she leaves her young daughter in the car on a hot New York day. When she realises her mistake, it is already too late. Another woman Adelaide is a reporter covering a subsequent negligence trial, and for her the story is a familiar one, stirring up ghosts from her own long-buried …

COUNCIL works to mitigate coastal erosion and flood management were outlined to members at a recent meeting of West Clare Municipal District, writes Conor Clohessy. From coastal erosion to flood management, the local authority outlined a range of plans for the creation of safer coasts and floodplains all around the regions of West and North Clare. Firstly, schemes through the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme are close to being carried out county-wide, according to Clare County Council’s chief engineer Seán Lenihan. In a statement at the West Clare Municipal District meeting on January 18, Lenihan was asked to provide details on the progression of these schemes by Cllr Gabriel Keating. Mr Lenihan thanked many of the councillors who were involved in acquiring agreement from landowners in Clonahinshee, where plans for a flood relief scheme have been in place for quite some time and had proven problematic due to said landowners not being local and appearing otherwise unavailable. …

ALMOST two years of restrictions helped stem the march of Covid-19, but it undoubtedly came at a cost to many people’s emotional and mental wellbeing. Loneliness was always one of the main reasons that people picked up the phone and rang the Samaritans, and with interaction virtually banned at certain times and severely restricted at all others, it was far worse than ever between March 2020 and January 2022. Margaret McMahon is director the Clare & Ennis branch of the Samaritans and on Monday, she said the pandemic had resulted in more callers. “I think we got more callers and they were coming from a wider range of backgrounds. We would have had students who were not back at home, young people who would have been staying away and there are all the pressures that come with that in a family.” “Particularly in the beginning there would have been people who were trying to keep a long distance relationship together. …

A NEW bill is going through the Oireachtas, which aims to allow the State to tackle instances of illegal dumping through the use of CCTV, drones and automated number plate recognition, writes Owen Ryan. The Local Government (Surveillance Powers in Relation to Certain Offences) Bill 2021 was introduced to the Seanad on Tuesday by Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne. His party colleague Cathal Crowe said it is a piece of legislation that he himself has taken an interest in. “Over the past year, I’ve been in regular contact with Senator Malcolm Byrne and the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisors in the Oireachtas – they being the team that support members of the Oireachtas in drafting new legislation. “Senator Byrne and I feel that the current laws in place relating to litter pollution make it very difficult for local authorities to use modern technology to catch offenders. “This difficulty has increased with the advent of GDPR regulations which make it very …

KILLALOE Sailing Club’s newest member has raised more than €11,000 of his €20,000 target to participate in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, writes Dan Danaher. On September 4 next, Limerick sailor, Pat Lawless will commence on the ‘Race of his Life’, sailing solo around the world, non-stop and unassisted by technology other than a compass, sextant, the stars and the sun. Killaloe Sailing Club is thrilled to have an association with its newest club member on his worldwide voyage. The club undertook a successful fundraiser for Pat last year, and as a supporting organisation, the club logo will be engraved onto the bulkhead of his boat. Sailing in a 36ft Saltram Saga, no Irish person has managed to achieve this feat before now. The Golden Globe Race, which starts in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, is the longest, loneliest sporting event in the world. It involves nine months at sea alone in a small boat. (Get a flavour of what is involved …