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Gardaí in Ennistymon  are investigating what has been described as a “rare” and “tragic” road traffic collision in which two motorcyclists were killed after they collided with one another at Lisdoonvarna on Thursday evening. It is understood that the motorcyclists were travelling in opposite directions on the Ennistymon Road, just outside Lisdoonvarna when the collision occurred at approximately 6.45pm. Both motorcyclists were pronounced dead at the scene, while a female pillion passenger was airlifted to Galway University Hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Gardai have sealed off the road for technical forensic examination and it is due to re-open later today. It is understood that both deceased motorcyclists are not Irish nationals. One garda described the collision as “tragic and freakish. You would rarely hear of two motorcyclists colliding head on with one another”. Formal identification of the deceased has not yet taken place. The area where the collision occurred is on a small bend, and there …

Following a weekend where a visiting boat-owning fisherman was unable to fish out of Kilkee, there has been further criticism of the lack of available keys to access the East End car park. To access the slipway, boat-owners or divers must first obtain the keys to the barrier, which Clare County Council put up at the entrance. Last weekend, Mike Carrig, who lives in Quin, was forced to travel from Kilkee to Kilbaha in order to fish. He couldn’t access the slipway in Kilkee and did not know where to look for a key. Jackie McGrath, diving officer with Kilkee Sub Aqua Club, says the town is losing out on significant visitor numbers, due to the access issues at the car park. “I wrote to CFT, our body of divers in Ireland. Our president sent the letter to the county council and other diving clubs sent letters to the county council, to explain that we only had one key in …

ROAD deaths in Clare have seen an 83% reduction since 2007. This places Clare in the top five counties in terms of the reduction in road deaths. The first year-on-year increase in the number of fatalities since 2005 came in 2013 and has been revealed in a recently published report by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). The publication looks at the number of road deaths in each county in Ireland, from 2007 to 2013, which placed County Clare in the top five safest counties, with the fewest number of fatalities. The report, entitled 2007 To 2013 Road Traffic Deaths by User Type and County, highlights the reductions in road fatalities in Clare between 2007 and 2013. However, while this statistic is a step in the right direction, tragically, since 2007, 23 drivers, three motorcyclists, two cyclists and eight pedestrians have been killed on roads in the county. Commenting on the report, Clare’s Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, said while the statistics …

Clare children who are seriously ill and require long stays at University Hospital Limerick can now be educated in state-of-the-art facilities on the hospital campus. Dr Liam Carroll, founding member and former chair of the Children’s Ark School Board of Management, and five-year-old, Jayden Conway Wood officially opened the new purpose built Children’s Ark School. The school provides multi-denominational primary and secondary level education for students attending University Hospital Limerick. This new facility comprises a large classroom for primary students, a second classroom for secondary students, toilets, office space and an outdoor learning area. The Department of Education and Skills has approved the installation of 100MB fibre broadband to enable access to the most up to date technology to support the education of the students. Managed by a board of management, its two teachers, Mary Carr and Margaret McCarthy are members of HOPE, the organisation for hospital teachers in Europe. Speaking at the opening, Ann Doherty, CEO, UL Hospitals, said …

A Californian with strong South Galway roots took to the stage at the regional finals of the 2014 Rose of Tralee at the weekend. Supporters from South Galway and North Clare travelled to Portlaoise to support Rosie Keehan, the San Francisco Rose, who was one of 60 young women vying for just 23 positions in the August finals in Tralee. Roses representing 29 counties in Ireland, 13 regions in the USA, Melbourne, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman, Canada, Luxembourg, Germany, Scotland and seven major cities in England, all took part in the regional festival. Rosie is a University of San Francisco graduate, having obtained a BA in Arts Management and Art History. As part of that, she spent six months in Ireland, studying Arts and Celtic Studies at UCD. “My Irish heritage stems from my father, Vincent Keehan, who hails from Shanaglish in South Galway, where I have visited every summer since I was a baby,” explained Rosie, who attributes …

Caves under North Clare and South Galway could extend 30 miles under Galway Bay and reach the Aran Islands, researchers have discovered. Rain falling in the Burren and filtering through the limestone appears to be then travelling in underground rivers to the coast and under Galway Bay, before emerging in springs on Inishmaan, and in the bay itself, according to work by a group from NUI Galway. Geologists have found large networks of underground rivers hidden under the seabed and, while the current research project is wrapping up, additional funding would enable them to identify targets in the subsurface that could be drilled out and water abstracted from them to supply the Aran Islands. “I would never suggest there is an unending supply of water you could hit there, but there is good potential for hitting a water resource that might augment the water that falls on Inishmaan, or that might help with dealing with water supply on the smaller …

BROAD power sharing of positions of responsibility on Clare County Council between the various political groupings will almost certainly continue over the next five years, although a final agreement has yet to be reached. Talks on how positions, including those of mayor and deputy mayor, are to be allocated began on Tuesday of last week and were continuing on Wednesday evening, with another meeting slated for Thursday morning. It is hoped an agreement will have been reached by the time the new council holds its first meeting this Friday afternoon. Following the local elections, Fianna Fáil has 12 seats, Fine Gael eight, Independents seven and Sinn Féin one. For the purposes of the negotiations, two representatives from Fine Gael, two from Fianna Fáil and two representing Independents/Sinn Féin are in discussions. Wednesday was the ninth time they met. It is understood one of the main stumbling blocks is due to Fine Gael and Independents/Sinn Féin having the same amount of …

MORE than 2,800 Clare students began their State exams on Wednesday. Nearly 1,400 students; 664 female and 729 male, were registered to sit their Leaving Cert in centres across Clare beginning this week. A further 67 students, 31 female and 36 male were expected to sit the Leaving Cert Applied here. The Leaving Cert began with English Paper 1 followed by Home Economics, Scientific and Social studies in the afternoon. For the Junior Cert, English and Communications was taken in the morning followed by Social Education in the afternoon. Just over 1,400 young people were registered for the Junior Cert exams in Clare, consisting of 714 girls and 687 boys. In total 60,698 young people are sitting the Junior Cert this week, while 54,933 were doing the Leaving Cert along with 3,042 taking the Leaving Cert Applied exams. The Leaving Cert Higher Level Paper 1 lasted three hours and included texts on bank robbery, pop music and video games as …