News

OVER 90% of accident and emergency cases in Clare will still be treated in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, despite a radical change in the delivery of acute services over the coming months.

TOURISM in Clare could be one of the main beneficiaries of a new driving route along the west coast, modelled on the Great Ocean Road in Australia and the Garden Route in South Africa.

Renowned East Clare author Edna O’Brien has lent her support to The ­Gathering campaign by not only acting as an ambassador for her native parish’s event but also for the county.

ON a 18-10 vote, Clare county councillors passed a motion calling on the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to reverse a proposal to close eight Clare garda stations.

SCOIL Chriost Rí, ­Cloughleigh, has become the first primary or secondary school in Ireland to be accepted into the Comórtas Pan Cheilteach (Pan Celtic) Song Contest. Thirteen pupils and six adults will perform in Carlow on Thursday, February 7. The group is called Scoil Chriost Rí Abú and their song, Caoineadh Ón Dáil, was written by sixth class teacher, Joe Garry.

MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher has told local authorities and the national tourism authorities to redouble their efforts in order to assist the tourism industry in working through their current difficulties. Pat the Cope Gallagher was speaking at the opening of the National Tourism Conference, Tourism in Recessionary Times, organised by the Clare Tourist Council and in conjunction with Clare County Council, which was held in Ennistymon last weekend. During a hard-hitting address, Pat the Cope did not pull any punches regarding Ireland’s performance in the UK market in the past five years, which has seen visitor numbers from the UK plummet from 3.8 million in 2007 to 2.7m in 2012. “The real action in tourism is overseas business and our greatest problem is the poor performance in the UK which accounts for 40% of our overseas visitor numbers. “We need a very focused and aggressive marketing campaign in the UK to commence with immediate effect. Both Tourism Ireland and …

Fáilte Ireland has said that it is working with Shannon Development on plans for tourism in the Mid-West this year to ensure continuity and pursue growth in markets overseas. The priorities for tourism in 2012 were outlined by Fáilte Ireland at its annual tourism industry briefing for the Shannon Region, which was held in Limerick on Wednesday.

PLANS to extend the M18 from Gort to Tuam, which it is hoped will begin next year, drove forward this week with funding of €4.5 million granted for “preparatory works” on the project.