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MIKE Tyson passed through Shannon on Wednesday morning on his way to a speaking engagement in Limerick.The former heavyweight champion arrived from Manchester for a one-day stay as part of a UK/Ireland tour of eight venues where he has speaking engagements.Duty Manager Carmel Donnellan welcomed Tyson to Shannon. “He was really, really nice. He’s very soft spoken and subdued but really respectful. He just kept saying thanks for everything. He clearly still turns a lot of heads as everyone who saw him was doing a double take.Bill and Hilary Clinton, Chinese Vice-president Xi Jinping and President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas have all been welcomed at Shannon this year, as have soccer manager Roberto Mancini, and singer, Cheryl Cole.”  

JIM CONNNOLLY, the founder and chairman of Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI) has confirmed the company has recently made three people redundant. The RRI workforce now consists of just one part-time employee and Mr Connolly, who works for the group, which was established in 1990, on a voluntary basis. “In terms of Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI) making people redundant, there’s absolutely no secret whatsoever about it. Cutbacks in Government support, which we used to get from the Department of the Environment, started in 2008 and this year have been reduced to a fraction of what it was. Funding will be absolutely gone from next year,” Mr Connolly told The Clare Champion. “I alerted the board of Rural Settlement, when we had our AGM, telling them it looked like we would not be able to continue and stay solvent. That came to pass and three people were made redundant at the one time. Nobody was dismissed. They were just made redundant. The …

MORE than 25 communities across the county were honoured at the 2012 Community Environmental Awards ceremony hosted by Clare County Council this week with the major gongs going to Ballynacally and Sixmilebridge. Ballynacally Development Group was named overall winner of the Clare in Bloom competition, while Cappa Lodge in Sixmilebridge claimed the top prize in the Best Kept Local Authority Estate category.Addressing the large gathering in the Council Chamber at Áras Contae an Chláir, Mayor Pat Daly acknowledged the work being undertaken within Clare communities to enhance the living environment, adding there was a great level of volunteerism and community spirit in the county as evidenced by the significant public interest in the awards schemes.Tom Coughlan, county manager referenced the challenging times the country and the council is facing.  He stated, “Even though we are experiencing difficult times as a council, I think it is vital to support communities and that is why we continue to stage these awards. It …

CLARE County Council has been asked to put in conditions for major contractors that would help safeguard sub-contractors. A motion to this effect came before the October meeting of Clare County Council. Earlier this year a spokesman for Galway firm Conrock Ltd told The Clare Champion they had been left €60,000 short after twice carrying out works for contractors who went out of business.The spokesman said, “On two separate occasions, Clare County Council entered into contracts with two different building contractors, who subsequently turned out to have inadequate financial backing to complete the projects for which they had been commissioned. Not only is this a gross mishandling of scarce public funds but it has also resulted in smaller sub-contractors like ourselves being left without payment for works done.“We were contracted on both occasions to carry out the mechanical services (plumbing, heating, ventilation, gas installation and so on) on the Glaise na Rinne building site at Tullyglass Lower, Shannon. Back in …

THE best thing Dr James Reilly could do for his country now would be to go. The longer he insists on staying in office the greater will the damage be not alone to his country but also to the Government, to Fine Gael and, yes, to Labour too and to himself. He has shown himself to be a liability. His appointment as Minister for Health some 18 months ago was welcomed in many quarters. As a doctor and a former president of the Irish Medical Organisation, it was believed he would understand better than anybody else on Enda Kenny’s front bench what the problems were in the Department of Health and he would be the best to solve them. On the contrary. The health service continues to be a mess and if Reilly stays in office, this most vital area of Government is likely to be in an even bigger mess. For that reason alone, he should go now before …

A Shannon stroke victim, who has already suffered from carbon monoxide toxicity, has requested Clare County Council to develop a policy for local authority tenants who experience problems with carbon monoxide (CO) exceedances in their dwellings.According to a Department of Medicine Discharge Summary dated January 19, 2012, Liam Casey (63) of Inis Ealga suffered from a “hemisphere stroke” while an MRI showed he had suffered from carbon monoxide toxicity.The Derry native, who has spent the last 35 years living in Shannon, was hospitalised for three days at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick last January.Clare County Council fitted three carbon monoxide detectors in his semi-detached bungalow last February – one in his sitting room, one in the hall and one in his bedroom.Mr Casey claims he has had ongoing problems with his stove, which provides great heat but appears to be emitting high levels of carbon monoxide because the flue in his chimney stack is too short.Having heard numerous Government advertisements …

The 1.2 million people in Ireland aged over 50 are being offered the opportunity to sample a mouth-watering menu of tourism activities in Clare put together by Shannon Development, in conjunction with the Shannon region tourism trade.As part of its strategic tourism marketing campaign specifically designed for the over 50s audience, Shannon Development and tourism representatives from the region will unveil a series of offers at their stand at the Over 50s Show in the RDS, Dublin, from Friday until Sunday. The event is expected to attract over 23,000 visitors and more than 250 exhibitors.Commenting on the growing seniors market, Aisling Travers, tourism marketing executive, Shannon Development said, “There are now more than 1.2 million people in Ireland aged 50 and over and they, more than any other sector of the population, are in the position to enjoy good value for money offers, restaurant meals, holidays, recreational activities and entertainment. “Clare and the Shannon region have a wealth of special …

OVER 200 employees left primary, continuing and community care services in the Mid-West over a 15-month period, a senior health manager has revealed. Mid-West primary, continuing and community care manager, Bernard Gloster, recalled the number of employees on the payroll in his sector dropped from 2,900 on January 1, 2011 to 2,684 on March 1, 2012. These figures included those who were job-sharing and excluded temporary help staff and voluntary agency workers.The overall management of health services in the Mid-West is delivered across two distinct sectors – acute hospitals and primary, continuing and community care. The Mid-Western Regional Hospitals in Ennis, Limerick and Nenagh; St John’s Hospital, Limerick; Croom Orthopaedic Hospital and St Munchin’s Maternity Hospital are all managed under one structure. The rest of the services, including GPs, mental health and public health nursing, come under primary, continuing and community care.The Fianna Fáil-led Government approved a voluntary retirement scheme, which incentivised public servants to retire before February 29 last …