News

THOUSANDS of businesses and householders in Clare have been urged to avail of a new emergency brochure, aimed at reducing response times for emergencies in the county. Approximately 10,000 Know My Number brochures will be printed by promoters who say it is the first of its kind in the country and could become a pilot project for a national rollout. In addition to reducing the length of time it takes to get details during an emergency call, the brochure will also speed up the response times to get to the scene of major trauma calls. Inch woman Paula McNamara was compelled to develop the leaflet last January after concerns were raised over emergency response times in the West of Ireland. “My hope is this will shave off valuable minutes and hopefully save lives,” she said. Ms McNamara explained this leaflet was created as a way to direct emergency vehicles to your home faster in an emergency. “In the event the …

CLARE Marts has already sold Ennistymon Mart to discount supermarket, Aldi for a price tag believed to be in the region of €1.5m, despite strong opposition from the local IFA committee and local traders. Members of Ennistymon IFA staged a protest before a Clare Marts Board meeting in Ennis on Tuesday night, but the Clare Champion has learned Clare Marts is proceeding with the controversial deal. Clare Marts would not confirm the identity of the buyer or any of the terms and conditions, which it considers as “commercially sensitive information”. However, it is understood that the mart has been sold to Aldi subject to planning permission, which could take a number of years to secure. Aldi has also declined to comment on the deal. It is also expected that any planning application lodged by Aldi to Clare County Council will be vigorously opposed by some local traders and residents in the North Clare town. Fifteen sales have been held in …

CLARE County Council, An Garda Siochána, the Fire Service and Clare Civil Defence are responding to more than 150 separate weather related incidents around the county. Several thousand homes in areas right across the county are without electricity. An emergency number – 1890 252 943 – has been established for members of the public to report fallen trees, blocked roads and flooding. This number will be operational until 7.30pm. The south-east of the county is one of the worst affected areas, particularly in Killaloe and around Sixmilebridge, with fallen trees reported on most routes. The north and west of the county have also been badly affected. Clare County Council says it expects storm conditions to abate later this evening but it is urging members of the public to avoid making any unnecessary journeys due to storm debris and traffic lights out of operation on the county’s roads.

AFTER closing for a number of hours due to this afternoon’s severe weather, when winds gusts reached 150k per hour, Shannon Airport has now reopened. An Aer Arann plane that was parked at the airport blew over during the course of the afternoon, while some of the cladding on the roof of the airport blew down. The terminal building also had to be evacuated after a fire alarm went off after a door swung open and struck it. A number of trees were also knocked in Shannon and Met Éireann’s radar suffered wind damage during the storm.    

WITH another storm battering the county this Wednesday afternoon, Shannon Airport has closed temporarily. One small aircraft was blown by the wind to a point where one of its wings tipped the ground. In a statement it has said that due to the adverse conditions all operations have been suspended until 3.30pm. According to the airport website the last flight to leave Shannon was at11.30am this morning. The last arrival was just after 11am and two flights due to arrive from London have been cancelled. Also this afternoon a truck overturned on the Ennis-Limerick road while there are reports of trees falling all over the county. Meanwhile, Met Éireann has a red weather alert in force. Coastal areas will experience winds increasing from storm force 10 to violent storm with some severe gusts this afternoon. The Coast Guard particularly appeal to people to use common sense and not to place themselves in danger. The Coast Guard strongly advises the public …

LEGENDARY concertina player, Chris Droney from Bellharbour has been honoured as the recipient of this year’s TG4 Gradam Saoil (Hall of Fame). Chris was born in 1924. His father, James and grandfather Michael (1829-1927) also played concertina and Chris learnt by ear and parental example from the age of eight. He began his musical career by learning two tunes The Wearing of the Green and Clare’s Dragoons. His first public appearance was at the age of 14 in Johnson’s dance hall in Kinvara for which he was paid half a crown. He went on to play in several bands and from 1956 he won ten All-Ireland medals – nine solo and one for a duet with fiddler Gus Tierney. His son, Francis and daughter, Ann have also won All-Ireland titles on concertina. Many of his grandchildren are continuing the family tradition on concertina and some, most notably Daithí, are playing fiddle. In 2004 his contribution to music was honoured by …

WIND gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour could hit County Clare this Wednesday, Met Éireann has warned. The forecaster predicts that sustained westerly winds will be between 60 and 70 kilometres per hour, and that seas will be high throughout this afternoon. Aer Lingus has cancelled a number of inbound and outbound services from Shannon Airport as a result of adverse weather.Intending passengers are advised to contact their airlines. A status orange weather warning is in place for Clare, along with Mayo, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford, while the most serious warning, a status red alert, has been issued for Cork and Kerry. Tonight will be cold, with occasional showers, with some hail, sleet and snow in places. Lowest temperatures will zero or -1 C., with frost and icy patches also. It will be windy for a time but the blustery westerly winds will moderate further later on.  

ERIC Trump of the Trump Organisation, who have purchased Doonbeg Golf Club for €15m, has told The Clare Champion that his company intend to invest heavily in the west Clare links property. The Trump family will be in Doonbeg on Wednesday to mark their purchase of the iconic west Clare property. “It has to be the best. It has to be great and it can be. We’re going to put a lot of money in the golf course and into the hotel. The property already is amazing. It’s always nice when it doesn’t need much work but we’re going to put a lot of money into it and make it even better,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday. The Trump Organisation own 16 golf courses world wide, along with eleven hotels. Mr Trump says that making the decision to purchase Doonbeg Golf Club was not an difficult one. “Everybody that we talked to about Doonbeg always raves about it. They always …