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A WASTE management company has been requested to ensure bins are not collected in  Shannon as early as they are on Saturdays at the moment. Local Sinn Féin spokesman Mike McKee said, “This company charges over  €300 for 12 months bin collections and they should be treating their customers with more respect and dignity than driving through housing estates at such an early time on the weekend, creating a racket that wakes people unnecessarily. “The company is collecting bins at 6am on a Saturday, while all other bin companies collect at a reasonable hour from Monday to Friday. Sinn Fein plan to pressure the company to cease its bin collection at an unacceptable time on a Saturday,” he said. Mr McKee was speaking after he was re-elected as chairperson of Sinn Féin in Shannon. In his address to the AGM, Mr McKee stated that during this year’s Clare County Council election campaign, he intends to hold public bodies to account, …

ANTI-war protesters, Margaretta D’Arcy and Niall Farrell are due to appear in Ennis District Court on Wednesday to set a date for their second trial for protesting on the runway at Shannon Airport in September 2013. Ms  D’Arcy remains in Limerick prison on foot of her refusal to sign a bond to undertake not to go any unauthorised parts of Shannon. Among her visitors, has been Sabina Higgins, wife of the President For as long as Margaretta is in prison, it is intended that there will be weekly protests outside the Dáil  each Wednesday from 1pm to 1.45 pm, and outside Limerick prison on each Friday evening from 5pm to 6pm. According to a statement  issued by Shannon Watch after a visit on Monday,  she is in good form and very determined to continue her “conversation with the State” from within the prison. “With regard to signing any documents or bonds that could lead to her release from prison she …

A TENDER document for the design of the Shannon Venue, a project which is seeking to provide a multi-functional civic and arts venue for the town, is being issued this week. Derek Barrett of Shannon Venue Ltd said that progress is being made. The tender document was issued last week and there’s around three weeks to submit a tender. “We have retained someone to score the applications and we’ll pick a design team. Then they’d have a number of months.  We’ve given an outline of the kind of things we want in it, the spaces we want and what we need,” he said. A target of €7 million has been set for fundraising, which they claim is required to give Shannon the best possible facility. By last November they had raised €700,000 from business sources and a sponsor a seat initiative was launched for the run up to Christmas, with seats available from €1,000. Nameplates carrying messages are to go …

A-68 -YEAR-old West Clare man cycled 30 miles. with all of his belongings, in the dead of night from his home to a nursing home in Ennis  after being subjected to two frightening robberies a circuit court has heard. The details emerged at a sentencing hearing at Ennis Circuit Court of three accused, Noel Garry, aged 20, of Cooraclare; Shane Donnellan, aged 20, of Clohanbeg, Cree and Joseph Lernihan, aged 21, of Finnemore Park, Mullagh, who were  all charged with robbing €3,000 from the injured party at his rural home in West Clare on February 25, 2012. Joseph Lernihan is further charged with robbery of €4,000 from the same man, four days earlier on February 21, 2012 at the same location. All three pleaded guilty to the charges against them. Detective Garda Donal Corkery told the court, “The injured party in this case is 68 and resided alone in a rural isolated location”. He said he was targeted by a …

LIMERICK City Council is inviting members of the public to have their say on a proposal to rename two of the city’s landmark locations in honour of  Brian Boru and John F Kennedy. The council  wants to gauge public opinion on the renaming of The Shannon Bridge as ‘John Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge’ and the area at Merchant’s Quay in the vicinity of Limerick City Hall and St Mary’s Cathedral, as ‘Brian Boru Square’. JFK, who had close ancestral ties with Limerick, was honoured as a Freeman of Limerick, which he visited during his 1963 trip to Ireland. 2014 marks the 1000th anniversary of Brian Boru’s death following his victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf. The High King of Ireland was also born on the banks of the River Shannon at  Killaloe, a short distance from Limerick.

CLARE sports tourism interests can learn how they can get a slice of the €450bn global  sport tourism industry in a major think-tank with international experts set for Limerick next May. The inaugural European Sport Tourism Summit, which will take place at Thomond Park Stadium on Thursday May 15, will also deliver recommendations that will be presented to Government regarding how Ireland can increase its share of the fastest growing sector in the global travel industry. Organised by W2 Consulting, the Shannon Airport sponsored event, will be attended by over 400 delegates drawn from local authorities, sports bodies, federations, clubs, charity organisations and communities here and abroad. Tourism facts: 35% of domestic tourism in Ireland is attributable to sport Over 30 different sports are participated in Ireland each year The Emerald Isle Classic American Football match at the Aviva Stadium in 2012 was worth an estimated €100m alone to the economy In the UK, the average football fan visiting for …

MOTORISTS travelling between Ennis and Ennistymon can expect to face delays over the next number of weeks.  Starting on this Monday morning, there will be delays on the main road between Whelan’s quarry and the landfill site at Inagh for road maintenance works. Motorists on this strategic North Clare route are urged to allow additional journey time, especially for travelling to work and school in the mornings.

RAHEEN Wood Steiner National School has a new chairman of its board of management, clinical psychologist, broadcaster and author, David Coleman. The Ogonnelloe resident has recently taken on the new role at the Tuamgraney-based school. Mr Coleman is well known for his award-winning television programme Bullyproof, the series Families in Trouble, Teens in the Wild and more recently his ongoing project 21st Century Child, which is running on RTÉ One on Tuesdays at 10.35pm. Mr Coleman’s three children attended Raheen Wood Steiner National School and his wife, Michelle, who is the chairperson of the parents’ association, has been actively involved with the school since their eldest started there. “He started in the local national school here in Ogonnelloe and then after two years, he moved into Raheen Wood Steiner School when my wife discovered Steiner education. We decided to make the shift and all three have either been through or are going through the school,” he said. What struck a …