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A VETERAN peace activist charged with causing criminal damage to a US navy plane, has revealed that as he was being arrested he handed gardaí a list of names of children who have been killed in the Middle East. Edward Horgan was one of two men arrested at Shannon Airport on Tuesday who were subsequently charged at Ennis District Court with causing criminal damage to an aircraft. It is understood that the words ‘danger, danger, don’t fly’ were written in marker on the plane. Mr Horgan (71) has an address at Newtown, Castletroy, Limerick while his co-defendant, 35-year-old Dan Dowling, has an address at Grace Dieu in Waterford City. Speaking after appearing in court, Mr Horgan said, “I believe that the list I gave to the guards had almost a thousand [names]; there were 35 pages. The total list, unfortunately, has almost one million people since 1991”. He added, “I handed it to the gardaí at the time of the …

THE Minister for Health, Simon Harris has announced that the Government has approved the investment required to enable the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to award the construction contracts for the building of the main children’s hospital on the St James’s Hospital campus and the two paediatric outpatients and urgent care centres on the Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals campuses. This decision means that the project can proceed without delay. Construction of the new children’s hospital will commence within weeks. At the site of the new children’s hospital, Minister Harris said, “Today (Wednesday) is a huge step forward for the children’s hospital project, ending years of doubt as to whether it would ever be built.  Today, there is no more doubt.  This hospital will be built. The new state of the art children’s hospital, and the two paediatric outpatient and urgent care centres, will provide a fitting place where we can provide our children with the best modern clinical care. “Our children …

The Minister for Health Simon Harris has today (Tuesday) noted the publication of the agreement between the National Maternity Hospital and St Vincent’s Healthcare Group by the two hospitals. In a statement, the Department of Health said, “The minister also particularly welcomes the confirmation by the board of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group that any medical procedure which is in accordance with the laws of this State will be carried out at the new hospital.” The statement continued, “ The boards of both hospitals are meeting this week and will no doubt review progress to date. The minister and his officials will arrange meetings with the two hospitals shortly. The minister repeats his request that some time be allowed for the detailed work that is necessary. The project is at the very early stages with a planning decision on the hospital not expected until the autumn.” Minister Harris, the statement noted, said the location of all maternity hospitals on the sites of adult …

Shannon Group plc recorded another positive year of trading in 2016, as turnover hit €67.2 million, up by over 2% on 2015.  In its second full year of trading, the group, the parent company of Shannon Airport, Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage, recorded EBITDA of €7.6 million, reflecting a solid performance and a 10% increase on 2015. Announcing his first annual results as CEO of Shannon Group, Matthew Thomas said that a continuation of the company’s improving financial performance is necessary to enable it to undertake critical investments across its business units. “The Shannon Group has a unique mix of complementary businesses that, more than any other commercial entity in the region, gives it the potential to positively influence economic development. Sixteen companies who announced new or expanded operations in 2016 in the Mid-West, which was the fastest growing region outside of Dublin last year, cited the global connectivity at Shannon Airport as a key influencer in their decision to …

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has announced that work on the roll-out of the new locally-led Hen Harrier scheme will begin immediately. The minister confirmed his department has signed contracts with the Hen Harrier Project Ltd, representing a consortium of skilled and experienced conservationists, agricultural advisors and environmental scientists, to lead on the design and delivery of the new scheme. The winning team was selected on foot of a competitive tender operated by the department as offering the best approach for this critical new scheme which seeks to save one of Ireland’s most endangered birds. This will be monitored closely in this region, where the Hen Harrier has resulted in restrictions in farming practises for hill famers in parts East Clare and South Galway. Minister Creed said, “I am looking forward to seeing the new scheme in place as soon as possible. This scheme is targeted specifically at farmers with designated land and should provide farmers in …

Raising road safety awareness and reducing the number and severity of road traffic collisions on Clare’s roads is the objective of an event in the public car park at Glór, Ennis, next week. The roadshow will include a roll-over simulator demonstrating what it is like to be involved in a car crash, first hand accounts from emergency first responders and an interactive shuttle featuring driving, motorbike and bicycle simulators, reaction timers, Driver Theory Test computers, and screens showing road safety advertisements. Organised by the Clare Road Safety Action Group, comprising Clare County Council, An Garda Síochána, HSE, Road Safety Authority, Clare Civil Defence and Clare County Fire & Rescue Service, it is open to all. On Wednesday morning, hundreds of secondary school students will witness the full horror of a road crash at a simulation aimed at showing teenagers the human tragedy behind the statistics. The demonstration is targeted at young people who are about to embark on their driving careers or who …

Shannon-based Chemifloc, the largest producer of water treatment chemicals in Ireland, has completed a €5 million investment in new bulk liquid chemical storage facilities at Foynes port. Foynes is the largest of Shannon Foynes Port Company’s ports Five new jobs will be created by Chemifloc, bringing total employment in the Shannon headquartered company to over 40 people.  This latest investment brings to over €10 million Chemifloc’s investment at Foynes since it established bulk storage facilities there more than 10 years ago. Chemifloc’s facility at the County Limerick port is now the most advanced in the country and positions the company as it embarks on an expansion programme into new sectors including the electronics, pharmaceutical, dairy and manufacturing industries. Fergal Lawless, executive director of Chemifloc explained, “Chemifloc is a wholly Irish owned company specialising in water treatment systems to deliver drinking water to homes and businesses throughout the island of Ireland.  Chemifloc products are also used to protect the environment by treating …

THE beautiful setting in the heart of the Burren at Kilnaboy, where stands one of the most famous country houses used in the filming of the Fr Ted series, will play host to an evening to support the RNLI Lifeboats. The hosts will be Cheryl and Patrick McCormack. The doors of Fr Ted’s house will swing open to the public on Sunday, April 30 from 6pm to 9pm. The house is set under the shade of Mullaghmore, with its twisted rocks and the hills of the Burren. It is an evening not to be missed, as there will be music and song and host Patrick McCormack will share some of the poetry he has written of his experience living in this beautiful landscape. There will be tea and scones for everyone and there is plenty of parking at the house. The event was launched in Fr Ted’s house by Lauren Guilfoyle from Feakle and Shelly and John Galvin from The …