News

The mother of Estlin Wall (3) said this Friday that learning that the man whose careless driving caused her daughter’s death is looking to get back driving before his ban is served “is another dagger in the heart”. Amy Dutil-Wall was speaking concerning an application lodged with Ennis Circuit Court office on behalf of Senan O’Flaherty of Lower Gowerhass, Cooraclare that he wants his licence restored before his four-year driving ban is served. In April 2020, as part of his sentence at Ennis Circuit Court, a four-year driving ban was imposed on Mr O’Flaherty (65) for the careless driving causing the death of Estlin Wall on March 15 2017 – a number of days before Estlin was due to celebrate her fourth birthday. The circuit court office in Ennis declared Mr O’Flaherty’s licence restoration application invalid and returned it to his solicitor as he has not yet served two years off the road and the matter was briefly mentioned at …

THIS Sunday the 7.40am Shannon-Heathrow flight will resume, marking the full restoration of the crucial London services. The following day the Shannon-Newark service will also return after almost two years, with flights set to operate seven days a week. Ryanair services to Palma and Malta are also beginning on Sunday, with the airport’s summer schedule kicking in. Shannon currently offers 26 destinations including options to Budapest, Corfu, Marseille, Barcelona, Faro, Lanzarote and Edinburgh and more. The full resumption of the Heathrow service is very welcome news for Shannon, as the London airport is one of the most significant global hubs, offering onward connectivity to a huge range of destinations. While Shannon has connectivity to other London airports, the Heathrow service is much more important to local tourism interests and Ennis hotelier Sean Lally said that its return is hugely welcome. “It’s probably the most important route in and out of Shannon Airport. Not alone is it a hub for the …

HUNDREDS of people fleeing war-ravaged Ukraine have received a cead míle fáilte in North Clare as community groups, organisations and local representatives have come together to ensure a co-ordinated welcome for the new arrivals. More than 500 Ukrainians have arrived in Lisdoonvarna with a further 100 staying in Ballyvaughan in local hotels. This isn’t the first time that Lisdoonvarna has played host to the people of Ukraine as the town has fond memories of welcoming the Ukrainian Special Olympics delegation in 2003. More than 200 Ukrainian refugees who are now staying in the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna this week called for world leaders to stop the war. The refugees who arrived at the hotel last week have called for peace saying, “All Ukrainians and all people of the world, one peace now. Please stop this senseless war. World leaders help us to stop this war. Kindness and compassion to all humanity.” Hotel owner Marcus White told The Clare Champion that …

LESS than six months ago aviation entrepreneur Pádraig Ó Céidigh was appointed chairman of the board of Shannon Group to widespread approval, but he resigned on Wednesday due to mounting frustration. When approached on Wednesday Mr Ó Céidigh declined to comment following his sudden exit after such a short period of time, but other sources have said he was quite disillusioned. It is understood that there were differences of opinion between the new chairman and other senior figures attached to Shannon Group, all of whom were in place before his appointment. One person said that Mr Ó Céidigh felt he was “frozen out” since his appointment and was having difficulty pursuing changes that he felt were important for Shannon. Mr Ó Céidigh was only appointed in late September of last year, and while he was clearly enthusiastic at the outset, his tenure has proved to be an extremely short one and yet again the process of finding a replacement must …

DIFFICULTY in sourcing staff is proving a persistent problem for Clare businesses, especially in the hospitality sector. Shannon restaurant Tea and Tones has had to close on Mondays and Tuesdays of late, due to the issue, although the closure is set to be confined to Mondays in the future. Proprietor Elaine Donnellan said she has been left with no choice because it is so hard to get a chef. “I just can’t get one anywhere. I’ve advertised, I’m 30 years working in the industry and I’m always ringing people who I worked with over the years and you can’t get anyone.” She said that in some cases experienced chefs left the sector during Covid, and got jobs in factories with much more social hours. “They have their weekends off and they say never again will they go back cheffing. We’ve rang LIT and there’s nobody, there doesn’t seem to be anyone coming through.” In the past Elaine worked at Carrygerry …

PLANNING permission was granted for 605 new residential units in Clare last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. Of that number 45 were apartments, with the remainder being for houses and should all these developments be built, they would accommodate around 1600 people, going by the average household size recorded in the last census. It would be a welcome boost given the housing shortage in Clare at the moment, but Councillor Joe Cooney said that the rising costs of materials is a huge problem now. “Things are busy, but they have quietened a bit and that’s because of the cost of materials. The cost of materials has simply gone crazy. Unfortunately it’s going to prevent young people from building houses with the way it’s gone.” He said that in the last 12 months certain materials have come close to 100% increases in price, while others have seen a 30-50% jump. Despite the huge increases, he says it …

A MAN has died following a crash on the Old Cratloe Road about 100 metres on the Clare side of the border with County Limerick. Gardaí are investigating the collision involving two vehicles that occurred at approximately 10am this morning Thursday March 24 at the junction of Old Cratloe Road and Woodcockhill Road, Limerick. A male passenger (late 40s) was fatally injured when the two-car collision occurred. His body has been removed from the scene and taken to University Hospital Limerick where a post mortem will take place in due course. The male driver (mid 20s) of the same vehicle was taken to University Hospital Limerick to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. The male driver (late 60s) of the second vehicle was uninjured. The road remains closed at this time and Forensic Collision Investigators are carrying out a technical examination of the scene. Local diversions are in place. Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come …

NO new acute, sub-acute or ICU beds will be opened in the Mid-West this year, according to HSE figures released to Independent Clare Deputy Michael McNamara. In response to Deputy McNamara’s Parliamentary Question, the HSE’s Acute Operations department confirmed none of the six hospitals in the UL Hospitals’ Group will receive any of the 411 acute and 36 ICU beds scheduled to be opened this year subject to staffing and completion of some capital works. “The provision of additional bed capacity on its own will not resolve the overcrowding problems at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), but the delivery of new acute, sub-acute and ICU beds should certainly be part of the solution,” stated Deputy McNamara, who described the exclusion of all six hospitals in Clare, Limerick, and north Tipperary as “disgraceful”. “UHL is the most consistently overcrowded hospital in the country having recorded 76,000 attendances in 2021, up 16% compared to 2020 and up 7% on 2019, and with 91 …