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Jason gears up for 1,350-mile cycle

JASON Ryan has got to know almost every back road in West Clare in recent months. The Kilrush man, who is a retained fire fighter in the town, has been partaking in four hour early morning training stints as he prepares for a five day, 2,100km (1,350 miles) cycle around Ireland. The cycle starts at 3pm in Trim on Sunday and is due to last five days. Jason, who is fundraising for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee and the Clare 250 Cycle, is confident that he is in physical shape to cycle up to 500km daily. “I’ve been out most mornings, nearly every morning, for the last couple of months. I’ve been clocking up between 80 to 100km at least four mornings a week. When it was brighter I was heading out at 5 or 5.30am but for the last few weeks it has been about 6.30am,” he told The Clare Champion this week. Once he leaves his …

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Locations identified for Kilrush CCTV

AT least 10 CCTV cameras will be erected in Kilrush town centre following the completion of a tendering and Part 8 planning process. At Tuesday’s September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, members unanimously backed the initiative, which was originally proposed by current town mayor, Councillor Paul Moroney. “What’s proposed is to have a number of cameras throughout the town. There’s a total of ten. Six of them are fixed at various locations throughout the town. Four of them are zoom cameras, which can move. The town centre is deemed an area of concern,” town clerk John Corry stated. “We’re going to have a fixed camera on the credit union and the Vodafone shop (subject to approval). There’s also going to be cameras on poles either side of the town hall. One will take in Moore Street, Francis Street and the square. The other one will take in Henry Street, John Street and Burton Street. We’re also going to have a …

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No resting place for Famine memorial

MORE than five months after the National Famine Commemoration was held in Kilrush, local town councillors still cannot decide where to locate the commemorative sculpture. In fact, only one member of the public responded to a council invitation for suggestions as to where the sculpture by Paddy Murray should be installed. After a long debate at Tuesday’s Kilrush Town Council meeting, councillors decided to defer a definite decision until October. Some councillors admitted that the location issue has dragged on for so long they would struggle to recognise the sculpture if they saw it. “I’ve forgotten what it looks like and how big it is,” Councillor Ian Lynch said. “We don’t know what it looks like. Because of the plinth, we haven’t seen it all,” Councillor Mairéad O’Brien stated. Town clerk John Corry revealed that an invitation for submissions from the public, issued in July, was met with an under-whelming response. “I received one submission. The location that was identified …

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Sewage treatment plant saga nears end

Kinvara's picturesque harbour area. Photograph by John Kelly.

A DECADES-long wait for a sewage treatment plant in Kinvara is nearing an end. An Bord Pleanála this week gave the go-ahead for construction of the wastewater treatment plant in the South Galway village. Currently, untreated sewage is pumped into Kinvara Bay about 100m from the pier. “It has been one of the longest running sagas in South Galway but the end seems near for the development of a new sewage treatment plant for the town,” Junior Minister Ciarán Cannon commented. “This is the last major stumbling block out of the way and we are now ready to begin the preparation of contract documents and commence the tendering process. There are no really onerous conditions attaching to the grant of permission and this makes the next stage very straightforward,” he said. “I have been liaising closely with council engineers and they have confirmed to me that they will now finalise the contract documents and are hopeful that we can go …

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Cigarettes seized at airport

As part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the importation of illegal cigarettes, officers from Revenue’s Customs Service at Shannon Airport on Wednesday seized 70,000 cigarettes with a retail value of €33,600 and a potential loss to the exchequer of €28,500. The “Sept Wolves” cigarettes were concealed in a consignment of airfreight which had arrived into Shannon from China. Investigations are ongoing. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295  

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Joint homecoming for Clare teams

A JOINT joint homecoming celebration is planned for the Clare under-21 and senior hurling teams, who are facing All-Ireland final deciders. The joint homecoming will take place on Sunday, September 29 at Active Ennis Tim Smythe Park (Fairgreen) with a time to be confirmed, Clare Local Authorities have announced. Planned activities include music and other entertainment. “The replay of the senior final on Saturday, September 28, coupled with the commonality between the U-21 and senior panels, has resulted in a unique situation. Following consultation with the Clare GAA County Board it has been agreed that a joint homecoming event is appropriate having regard to the overall circumstances,” said Gerard Dollard, Ennis town manager and Director of Services. Meanwhile, the council has confirmed that there are no plans to repeat the big screen event hosted in Abbey Street car park on Sunday last. Mr Dollard said while the event proved very successful with over 3,000 people enjoying the occasion, the timing …

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Nicole defies the odds with outstanding results

THOUSANDS of young people around the country collected their Junior Certificate results this week but for one 16-year-old, it was a day she and her family were not sure they would ever see. An elated Nicole Norton collected her results from St Flannan’s College in Ennis on Wednesday afternoon. The Barefield teenager, who has cerebral palsy, achieved five honours after sitting exams in maths, English, geography, religion and CSPE in June. “I am so proud. People told us that they couldn’t see a day when Nicole would sit a State exam and now she has three As and two Bs,” Nicole’s mother Ann beamed. “Nicole is completely reliant on people. She has very little movement. She is in a wheelchair. Her right side is slightly better than her left but she doesn’t have a huge amount of control of her body. She uses a laptop and types with one finger. She is visually impaired and she has a speech impairment. …

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Getting Shannon back on track

In a three-part series, Owen Ryan speaks to some of Clare’s leading business figures, beginning with Shannon Airport chief executive Neil Pakey. Next week, Irish Hotels Federation president Michael Vaughan of Lahinch will be featured   SHANNON’S performance is important for everyone in Clare. Many of us wouldn’t even live in the county but for it. If it weren’t for the tourists it brings to the county, huge numbers of jobs and businesses wouldn’t exist. Its Heathrow and US links have helped make the Mid-West of Ireland a hub for multi-national companies. The decline of the airport, which had its worst year since the ’80s in 2012, is a serious problem and a Scot has been brought in to get it back on track, 52-year-old Neil Pakey, the new chief executive, who was appointed in May. At the moment, he is commuting to Clare and heading back to Britain at the weekends, where his family are based. “My two boys …

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