Ennis

THE easing of pedestrianisation in Ennis’ town centre has been labelled as a “mess” with calls for an alert system to be put in place to warn people when traffic is about to be let back on the streets. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed by the Ennis Municipal District that the public is to be asked its views on pedestrianisation next month. A survey to “capture the public’s mindset” on car-free streets is set to be launched by the local authority in mid October. Full details have to be finalised but it is anticipated that the public consultation process will be open for up to two weeks. Since August 30 restrictions on traffic in Ennis town centre have been lifted except for Monday to Friday from 11am to 2pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 6pm and Lower Parnell Street where the current road closure applies until the end of September. Councillor Mary Howard insists this has led to …

FAIRY magic is returning to Ennis thanks to local efforts to restore a beloved children’s attraction recently destroyed by vandals. Last week The Clare Champion detailed how a fairy post box, part of the popular Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Lees Road fairy trail was smashed beyond repair in an act described as “heartbreaking”. We can now reveal that a brand new fairy post box has been installed along the trail, and is now open for children to write their letters to the magical folk who live along the woodland looped walk. The pretty new post box featuring images of fairies, dragonflies and butterflies has been created by Ennis’ Martin Tuohy. Councillor Mary Howard, who initiated the idea for the fairy trail said she is delighted that Martin stepped in to build a new post box for the children. “On foot of the publicity regarding the fairy post box being destroyed a local man, a neighbour of mine Martin Tuohy offered …

SAINT Flannan’s College is hoping to get the green light to reopen a former pedestrian entrance as part of efforts to encourage walking and cycling. A study carried out on behalf of the school has shown that no staff that were surveyed and just 17% of surveyed students chose those modes of transport to travel to school. The board of management at the secondary school has applied to Clare County Council for planning permission to reopen the entrance on the boundary wall to the Clare Road, as well as erecting a barrier and gate. The school, with a student population of 1,181 with 100 staff, currently has one vehicular access on College View Road and two existing pedestrian access points. According to documents lodged with the application, preliminary meetings have taken place between St Flannan’s College, consulting engineers Punch and Clare County Council with an agreement in place to construct a controlled crossing point adjacent to the proposed pedestrian entrance …

A BOOST for the services delivered by seven fire stations across Clare is on the cards with the official opening last Friday, August 27, of a new maintenance workshop to cater for a fleet of 24 trucks. The workshop in Ennis was formally launched by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, and blessed by Ennis Parish Priest, Fr Tom Ryan. The €1.23m facility was completed in May at the Central Fire Station Headquarters beside Áras Chontae an Chláir. It will help to ensure the quality of the service, which responded to 1,000 incidents and calls over the course of 2020 alone. The workshop features a two-bay maintenance facility and a two-bay spare appliance storage unit that will enable Clare County Fire and Rescue Service to meet today’s onerous requirements for comprehensive inspection, testing and maintenance of plant and equipment At a socially-distanced gathering outside the Fire Station HQ, Minister O’Brien thanked the emergency services who work daily …

A DEVELOPMENT of 40 social homes in Ennis has been commended by the Housing Minister as an example of what local authorities will be supported to deliver under the new Housing for All plan. Just days ahead of the much anticipated housing policy document, Minister Darragh O’Brien visited the estate at Ashline. He described it as exactly the kind of development that he will be asking county councils to deliver. “We will make a big dent in the housing crisis,” he told the Clare media. “We can do as we have the wherewithal, we have the expertise, we have the knowledge and the capability in this country, and indeed, in this government to make real strides on the housing situation, it is doable. “I want to make sure that the normal working families and individuals who feel that they can’t buy a home are going to be able to. And that’s why the first thing I did was to champion …

A SAMARITANS volunteer raising awareness of the mental health charity by walking over 9,000 kms, or 6,000 miles, will visit the Samaritans Ennis and Clare branch this weekend as part of his tour.  David Matthews is walking to all 201 Samaritans branches across Ireland and the United Kingdom to show people how a Samaritans volunteer is always there for them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. David has been a Samaritans volunteer for 12 years. He will arrive in Ennis at approximately 4pm on Saturday and will be overnighting in Ennis before making his way onto the Limerick branch of the Samaritans. His Irish walking route, dubbed The Listening Walk will visit: Drogheda; Newry; Portadown; Bangor; Belfast; Ballymena; Colerain; Derry; Omagh; Sligo, Athlone, Galway, Ennis, Limerick, Tralee, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Arklow and Newbridge. He will finish in Dublin in late Sept / early Oct. Margaret MacMahon Ennis Branch Director said, “David has been an inspiration for Samaritans volunteers and callers and we can’t wait …

THE hopes and wishes of children have quite literally been destroyed in Ennis in what has been described as an act of “wanton destruction”. A ‘fairy post box’, part of the Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Lees Road fairy trail, has been smashed beyond repair. The vandalism is believed to have been carried out using a child’s hurley which was found at the scene, along with the tattered remains of letters children had written detailing their hopes and dreams to the fairies of the trail. Councillor Mary Howard, who was involved in the establishment of the popular trail, says this act of vandalism is “heartbeaking”. “I got the call to come up and saw the post box was in smithereens, it’s terrible. I was just so disappointed see that somebody would think it’s okay to do this. This is just wanton destruction, it’s senseless”. Children have been flocking to the fairy trail since it was established five years ago, with the …

THE next stage in the transformation of Ennis’ town centre has moved a step forward with Part 8 planning lodged by Clare County Council for the re-vamping of O’Connell Street. The plans, part of the overall Ennis Town Centre Public Realm Regeneration Project, include an upgrade of the public realm of O’Connell Street, with the one-way traffic flow retained. There will also be the creation of a new civic space outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, including shared surfacing in natural stone materials; street furniture; replacement street lighting; signage; tree planting and rain gardens; and all ancillary works; together with changing Barrack Street (east) from raised kerbs to flush shared surface. According to a design report the result of the works “will be a safer and more attractive pedestrian environment and spaces for all sectors of the community, facilitating the Town Centre as a destination for visitors, improving its vitality and enabling Ennis to capitalise on its unique …