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A man in his 70s, who lived in Limerick, has died following a drowning accident in Kilkee this morning. It is understood that the man got into difficulty at the West End in Kilkee in an area close to Newfoundout. He was removed to hospital by rescue helicopter. Kilrush Gardai were also at the scene this morning. The fall happened shortly after 10.30am.  

Clare County Council, on the advice of the Health Service Executive (HSE), has today (Friday) lifted restrictions relating to public bathing at Lahinch beach. Bathing advisory notices were erected on Lahinch beach earlier this week due to an increase in the levels of bacteria found in a routine bathing water sample.  The excessive rainfall of recent weeks and resultant runoff from land surrounding Lahinch Bay had led to the detection of a greater concentration of bacteria levels.  The HSE subsequently advised Clare County Council, as the local authority responsible for the county’s bathing water locations, to erect notices advising beach users of the potential increase in bacteria levels in the water. Restrictions have today been lifted after further water testing indicated a reduction in bacteria levels.  Lifeguards are on duty while the Blue Flag is once again flying at the beach.

THERE was surprise and disappointment on Tuesday as it was announced that The Clare People newspaper had closed, after 14 years in business. It is understood that a meeting of its creditors is due to take place on August 23 at Hotel Woodstock and that the company will nominate Tom Murray of Friel Stafford as liquidator. The company has two directors, Emmet Moloney, a Clarecastle man who edited The Clare People for several years and Dómhnal Slattery, the hugely successful Ennis businessman, who is chief executive of aviation leasing company Avolon. The company last filed accounts covering 2017 and these show that it made a loss of €135,440 for the year. This was worse than 2016, when the loss had been just under €67,000. Liabilities exceeded assets, with the equity attributable to the owners a negative amount, of just over -€1.4 million The accounts showed that a sum of €747,283 was repayable to Mr Slattery, with this figure having increased …

TALKS on the future of Shannon pharmaceutical company Avara have now been referred to the Workplace Relations Commission. Speaking to The Clare Champion this week, Clare TD Joe Carey said, “The talks are still ongoing, as far as I understand. The union weren’t happy with the consultation period, so it has been referred to the WRC and there will be engagement there between the two parties. “As far as I understand, there was a 30-day period for consultation but there was only maybe 10 days of consultation. They looked for a date with the WRC and they’ve got it. The bigger picture here is that there is a business plan that the workforce have put together. “It’s a viable business plan and it’s based upon actual orders that the company have received to produce product for companies that need it. They’ve based it over a 12-month period to maximise the level of employment.” He said he believes that the plan …

SHANNON Airport was closed to aircraft for four and a half hours this morning, but it could have been much worse but for the fact a fire on board a plane was quickly spotted and extinguished. Director of Operations at Shannon Airport Niall Maloney said that the response began at 6.15am. “We were alerted by air traffic control to an issue with an aircraft that we responded to. We were responding to smoke in the undercarriage but it developed into a fire.” The aircraft in question was an Omni Boeing 767-300 which had travelled from America to Shannon and was due to go onwards to the Middle East. While Omni typically use Shannon to transport troops, there has not been confirmation as to whether or not troops were on board the plane on this occasion. There were 145 passengers and 14 crew on board the aircraft at the time and Mr Maloney said they were all uninjured. “One passenger may …

SHANNON Airport has now reopened following a fire on an Omni Boeing 767-300 aircraft this morning, which resulted in its runway being blocked for a number of hours. In a statement this afternoon, Shannon Group said, “Shannon Group has confirmed that thanks to the swift response of the Shannon Airport emergency services team, the airport reopened at 11.15am after the successful removal of a plane from the runway following an incident earlier this morning. As there has been flight disruption, intending passengers have been asked to contact their airlines. Updates are available on the airport social media channels. We would like to extend our thanks to the IAA (Shannon Tower Business Unit) and our airline partners for their support in the management of the incident.”

AN issue with an Omni Air International aircraft on Shannon’s runway has resulted in the suspension of all flights at Shannon this morning. On approach to Shannon the aircraft can be seen from the roadway, with a number of emergency vehicles around it. In a statement Omni Air International said, “We are investigating reports of an incident involving Omni Air International flight 531 at Shannon Airport, Ireland. The Omni Boeing 767-300 aircraft rejected takeoff and was safely evacuated. Initial reports indicate no serious injuries to passengers or crew. “Our primary concern at this time is for their safety. We are participating in the investigation of this incident and will release further information as it becomes available.” It is understood that there was a fire on the aircraft, which became apparent as it moved towards take off. Outbound flights to Tenerife and London have been impacted by the suspension of flights this morning, while three inbound transatlantic services are due by …

SHANNON Airport has announced this morning that all its flights have been temporarily suspended following an incident there. More information to follow as it becomes available.