News

IT’S still business as usual at the Clare Inn according to the selling agent for the hotel, which was put on the market last week with a guide price of €900,000.Tom Barrett of Savills has been appointed to sell the Clare Inn at Dromoland by the statutory receiver Michael McAteer, describing the sale as an “ideal opportunity” for investment. The hotel was previously owned by the Lynch group. The hotel has been successfully operated by Dalata Hotel Group for the last year on a short-term management contract. The freehold property, excluding the 32 privately owned suites, has been put up for sale by private treaty.According to Mr Barrett, “Clare Inn Hotel is a significant property with fantastic facilities and great opportunities to continue building the trade”. The selling agents added,  “The property has a strong wedding business and recently hosted a Chinese Government delegation of over 200 guests. This is an ideal opportunity for many owner operators and investors”.   The …

THE unveiling of the first definitive results of the Census 2011 by the Central Statistics Office has given an insight into the last five years of life in Clare. The census that was undertaken almost a year ago on April 10, 2011, examines the overall change in the population since the last census in 2006. It also provides first results on age and marriage, households and families, as well as including results on nationality, foreign languages, the Irish language, religion and housing. According to figures revealed in the census, Clare is still very much a Catholic county, with 88.4% of those living here describing themselves as Catholic in the Census 2011. Statistics show Clare people calling themselves Catholic exceeds the national average of 84.2%. The number of people in the county stating they have no religion is 5.5% with 6.1% describing their religion as ‘other’.According to well-known Clare priest Fr Harry Bohan, the figures for the county are “not surprising”. …

  SPEAKING in Shannon last Friday, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar acknowledged that he wouldn’t meet the Easter target he had set for a decision on the airport’s future.Minister Varadkar wouldn’t say when exactly a decision would be announced.“That’s not a question I can answer because what we’re doing at the moment is with due diligence. As I’m sure you can understand, Shannon Airport is involved in this, the DAA is involved in this, Shannon Development, four Government departments and various other entities as well, so we have to go through all sorts of things like loan agreements and debt issues and you name it.“The plan is to go to Government for a decision in principle in April and to carry out the process from there. It’d be silly for me to put a deadline on it.”During his address to the Shannon Chamber’s spring lunch, the minister noted he had never intended to make a significant announcement on the day.“I’m not …

CLARE County Council has defended its role in removing the remains of a whale, believed to have been a 15 foot Narwhal, which is an arctic breed. This species of whale has a long tusk and if confirmed to be a Narwhal, it would be the first of its kind seen in Ireland. The partial remains of the decomposing mammal was discovered by a member of the public at Clahane, Liscannor and reported to the Ennistymon Area Office of Clare County Council on March 27. “An investigation was immediately carried out by council officials who determined that the mammal had been in situ for at least several weeks. The mammal was found to be in an advanced state of decomposition and, as a result, the identity of the species could not be determined,” Clare County Council said in a statement on Wednesday. “Due to the serious public health concerns surrounding the presence of a rotting carcass in a public amenity …

TEENAGERS with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in West Clare can look forward to receiving second level education reasonably near their homes when two purpose-built ASD units are constructed at St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point.The units, which have been approved by the Department of Education, will be purpose-built to meet the needs of children with ASD now nearing the end of their primary schooling. Currently, the county is served by dedicated ASD units in St Flannan’s National School, Inagh; St Senan’s NS, Kilrush and Broadford National School, with other children attending either mainstream primary or special schools in Ennis.  Secondary school pupils in Mid-Clare can access the special unit in St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla. A number of teenagers with ASD from West Clare are being transported to a special school in Ennis to meet their education requirements, which has been described as unsatisfactory.The new development in Spanish Point will allow for the integration of pupils with autism and the …

An Ennis barrister is ranked among the top five earners at the Mahon Tribunal, having earned €5.3 million in legal fees acting on behalf of the tribunal.Mr Patrick Quinn SC, who is originally from Ennis, practised on the South Western Circuit but moved to Dublin some time before the Mahon Tribunal began and was appointed as a senior counsel for the tribunal. It is understood that he was among the senior counsel to remain on to work on the final preparation of the Mahon Report and is understood to have made €5.3m from the tribunal since it began.Mr Quinn became a junior counsel in 1979 and qualified as senior counsel in 2001 and has practised in commercial/chancery, administrative law, Tort and personal injury law and specialises in tax law.Senior counsel, Patricia Dillon was the top earner from the tribunal, having earned €5.9 million, while Des O’Neill SC and Patrick Quinn SC both earned €5.3m, they were followed by Eunice O’Raw …

MILTOWN Malbay Garda Station is not to close, according to the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter. Responding to a query from Clare TD, Deputy Pat Breen, Minister Shatter said “Miltown Malbay Garda Station is not one of those 39 garda stations identified for closure or reduced opening hours”.The Commissioner’s Policing Plan for 2012, released in December last year, indicates changes to the future opening hours of 10 garda stations and the closure of 39 others.The minister confirmed that approximately 296 gardaí are assigned to the Clare Garda Division, of which 33 are assigned to the Ennistymon District and three of these are assigned to the Miltown Malbay Garda Station. There are also 19 garda reserve members and 33 civilian staff assigned to different stations across the division.“These resources are augmented, when appropriate, by gardaí from national units such as the Garda National Drug Unit and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation,” the minister outlined.“The priority will remain that an effective …

A Kilkishen-based haulage contractor is getting all revved up for the second Clare Diecast and Model Show in the West County Hotel, Ennis, on Sunday, April 15.While most people don’t mix their work with recreation, Brian Kavanagh has turned his work into an intriguing hobby.Inspired by other collectors for what is believed to be one of fastest-growing hobbies in Ireland, Brian the collector has now become Brian the show organiser.Exhibitors from all over the country will come together for the charity show from 11am to 5pm to display all types of miniature trucks, heavy haulage, plant equipment, cranes, farm equipment, rally cars, a train station and aeroplanes.All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Clare Crusaders’ Clinic in Barefield, which provides therapy for more than 190 special needs children with autistic spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Downe syndrome and other conditions.Run on a voluntary basis, services are free of charge and include speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education, physiotherapy …