Car Tourismo Banner
Home » News (page 38)

News

Mini Marathon’s local focus has made it a west Clare institution

WITH the 25th West Clare Mini Marathon set for January 29 in Kilkee, Willie and Mary McGrath, the driving force behind its main beneficiary, reflected on how the event has developed since humble beginnings in 1999. That year’s event, organised by the McGraths and others saw fewer than 25 people take part, bringing in £7,394 for the West Clare Cancer Centre. “It was trial and error to see would a mini marathon in West Clare work on the last Sunday in January, which is maybe not the best time of the year!” Willie laughs.  On the night of January 31, 1999, no one was expecting the fundraiser to still be going in 2023, but Willie said the first mini marathon had been a success and people wanted it to happen again. “From the first event, on that Sunday evening it looked as if it might go somewhere. The feedback was beginning. People were asking why runners? Why not accommodate walkers …

Read More »

Breathing new life into Corofin’s Main Street

A HUB for artists and a welcome for visitors and the local community alike is on offer on Corofin’s Main Street, thanks to the opening of a gourmet café and gallery.  Morning Dew is the realisation of a long-held dream for Nadaa Hyder and Nolan Crampsie, who upped sticks from their Toronto home to open the business in the former Inchiquin Inn. The couple, and their business partner and close friend Jack Campbell who inherited the Inchiquinn in 2019, also live over their new business. Instinctively, they have revived the old Irish urban tradition of ‘living over the shop’ – something which has been widely advocated as a way of breathing new life into rural towns. “We have a personal joy in revitalising the Campbell family premises and bringing new life to the historic building – with Kenny’s Drinking Emporium stained glass window an artistic reminder of that history,” said Nadaa.  It is no coincidence that the couple came to …

Read More »

Planners give green light for new homes in Clare village

GROWTH is on the cards for the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills now that planning permission has been granted for a development of three homes at Iragh.  Clare County Council gave the green light for the development, on a site of just over half an acre, subject to 20 conditions. After assessing the plans and seeking Further Information (FI) on certain aspects, the local authority found the plans to be acceptable, given the zoning of the land, which is earmarked for “low density residential and mixed use”.  Among the 20 conditions attached to planning permission is the requirement that the homes may only be sold to individual purchasers and not a corporate entity. This is in order “to ensure an adequate choice and supply of housing, including affordable housing, in the common good”. Before construction begins, East Clare Construction must submit a lighting plan for the site. It must also revise plans so that pedestrian circulation is possible around each of …

Read More »

Planning act briefing as councillors fear input could be limited

A BRIEFING on the impact that new planning laws might have on the powers of local authority members is to be organised, the head of the Council has said.  Mr Pat Dowling was responding, at the January meeting of the authority, to concerns voiced by Councillor Cillian Murphy. The Loop Head man raised the topic of the Planning and Development Act, which was signed into law last month. He noted correspondence from Cork County Council members who have forwarded their concerns to Minister Darragh O’Brien and to associations representing councillors. They said that the law will “limit local Councillors’ powers” and that a ten-year proposed life span for county development plans is “far too long”.  Addressing Clare County Council, Councillor Murphy asked for a briefing on how the new legislation will impact local authority members. “It is only a notice of motion that was passed by the council in Cork, but if there is something there and if it is …

Read More »

Fresh concerns over Clare access to pyrite grant

FURTHER uncertainty has arisen over the timeframe for access for Clare’s homeowners to the defective blocks grant scheme. While the Minister for Housing announced last June that Clare and Limerick would be included in the revised grant scheme, there is uncertainly currently as to whether Darragh O’Brien has signed the required order. While it had been hoped that pyrite homeowners in Clare would be able to apply for the grant early this year. doubt has been cast on that timeframe. “Our understanding is that Clare is not actually included in the scheme until the Ministerial Order has been signed,” Dr Martina Cleary of Clare Pyrite Action Group(CPAG) said. “We have only just learned of this after becoming aware of media queries to the minister over the status of this order. “To date, these media queries haven’t been responded to. This is really concerning because there is potentially another major delay now for homeowners in Clare and in Limerick. We have …

Read More »

Demand really taking off in aviation sector, says LTTS chief

HAVING come through Covid, the biggest challenge for Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon (LTTS) is trying to ramp up production as quickly as possible, according to its CEO Michael Malewski. This week the company announced 25 jobs will be created when its new 2,000m2 building opens in the spring, with more likely to follow later in the year. Mr Malewski said that the new development is almost ready. “It’s nearly complete and our target is that it can be fully operational at the end of March. The team are there now preparing everything for the big opening.” He said that the development will see the Shannon site’s productive capacity increase by around a quarter. The extra capacity is badly needed with demand from customers exceptionally strong. “Business is really good. The last time I spoke to you was in the middle of the crisis, I was talking about the impact of the crisis on aviation in general and on Lufthansa Technik  …

Read More »

Cliffs of Moher is named Ireland’s best visitor attraction

A PRESTIGIOUS Travel Awards has named The Cliffs of Moher Experience winner of ‘Ireland’s Best Visitor Attraction’. The County Clare visitor attraction finished ahead of Ireland’s best known tourist sites in The Irish Independent’s annual Reader Travel Awards 2023. The awards are decided by a poll of Irish and international readers of The Irish Independent and adjudication by an expert panel comprising Niall Tracey (Director of Marketing, Fáilte Ireland), Pól Ó Conghaile (Pól Ó Conghaile is Travel Editor, The Irish Independent), John and Francis Brennan (hoteliers), Roz Purcell (author & adventurer) and Katy McGuinness (food writer & restaurant critic). It is the second time that the Cliffs of Moher has picked up the overall award having previously been named ‘Ireland’s Best Visitor Attraction’ in 2019. Welcoming the award win, Councillor Tony O’Brien, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, paid tribute to the management team at the local authority owned visitor attraction whom he said, “continually set a high bar for other …

Read More »

Department: ‘access to suitable accommdation’ for asylum seekers ‘severely constrained’

COUNTY Councillors at this week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District slammed plans to house refugees in an industrial building at the Shannon Free Zone and also criticised the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) for the secrecy it has maintained around the plans. The meeting also heard warnings that a lack of information can give an opportunity for misinformation to flourish, and give the far right an opening to exploit. Following the criticism at Tuesday’s Shannon Municipal District meeting DCEDIY told the Clare Champion it has no option but to take advantage of any type of accommodation available, while it said there would be communication with local representatives before the facility does open. At Tuesday’s meeting Sinn Féin’s Donna McGettigan said the Department’s decision not to make information available was leading to “all sorts of innuendo”. She also said councillors have been called liars when they have said they don’t know what the plans for accommodation in …

Read More »