Regional

THE cost of providing military assistance to gardai for duties at Shannon Airport has come to nearly €800,000 over the last three years, writes Owen Ryan. In the Dáil Deputy Catherine Connolly asked Minister for Defence Simon Coveney for details on the expenditure and in reply he said that in 2019 it came to €214,213, in 2020 it was €270,708 and last year €273,027. Mr Coveney said, “Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces is the provision of Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) which, in practice, means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested. “I am satisfied that there is ongoing and close liaison between both An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and between my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality regarding security matters generally, including the Defence Forces ATCP roles.” He said costs relate to security duty allowance paid to members of the Defence Forces, rations and fuel.

HAVING first decided to postpone its 2022 show, Shannon Musical Society has now decided to cancel it altogether. Its production of Little Shop of Horrors was going to happen in April, but the Society felt that despite the loosening of restrictions, allowing it to go ahead could potentially result in serious problems. Aodán Fox was set to direct the production, and he said it had been a difficult decision. “It was a tough call to have to make to be honest, but there were several concerns. The fact that we could have been in a position financially to put ourselves in major danger if we had all the outlay and we were hit by Omicron, either the week before or the week of the show and have to cancel, that was a major concern. “It could put the Society in grave danger of not being able to continue. After chatting it out with the cast and the committee, it was …

THE family of a Kilrush woman who was murdered 17 years ago has welcomed the transfer of her killer from an open to a closed prison, writes Dan Danaher. The Clare Champion has learned that Raymond Donovan was recently transferred from Shelton Abbey Open Centre to Castlerea Prison, which is a closed medium security prison. It is understood that Donovan was transferred to a closed prison after allegedly contravening prison rules. Ann Walsh from Pella Road, Kilrush, was 23 years and four months old when she was strangled by her former boyfriend, Raymond Donovan from Cooraclare in the grounds of St Senan’s Church, Kilrush on August 24, 2005. Donovan was convicted of her murder at the Central Criminal Court in Ennis with Mr Justice Paul Carney imposing a mandatory life sentence following a unanimous guilty verdict by a jury. Ann had been going out with Donovan for three years but had split from him a year previous to the attack. …

A BUMPER crowd is expected to attend Bellharbour on Sunday, where the County Clare Hunt are hosting their eagerly-awaited point-to-point fixture, writes Michael Duggan. The recent lifting of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have come at just the right time for pointing fans, and Sunday promises to be a fantastic day’s racing. Quin man, Paul O’Neill, who is one of the chief organisers of the meeting, told The Clare Champion earlier this week: “We are so looking forward to this weekend. Thankfully, things are slowly but surely returning to normal post-Covid, and the easing of restrictions has been sweet music to our ears. “Anybody travelling to Bellharbour on Sunday does not have to do anything other than turn up on the day. All the pre-registering issues and stuff like that have been done away with and that certainly makes life easier for all concerned.” In recent times, the hosting of a point-to-point has evolved into a fun day for all, and …

ENNIS students have raised more than €4,000 for charity, while also highlighting barriers to education which have left some youngsters ‘Locked Out of Education’. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year students recently presented the St Vincent de Paul with a cheque for €4,259.45, the proceeds of a fundraising and awareness raising campaign last December. The campaign highlighted that many young people face being ‘Locked Out of Education’ because of rising rents and other costs while also raising funds for the St Vincent de Paul and was organised as part of their Young Social Innovators project. As part of their fundraising, the students camped out for a night at the school, and operated the St Vincent de Paul shop in Ennis for a day. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year Co-ordinator Martina McNamara has expressed appreciation to all of those who supported the students in their fundraising efforts and awareness campaign. She explained that the students were moved to act when they discovered …

Owen Ryan speaks to Derry native and Shannon resident Charlie Morrison about the horrors of Bloody Sunday ON a wall in Charlie Morrison’s back garden the slogan ‘You Are Now Entering Free Derry’ is daubed on a wall, while a tricolour flies from a flagpole. His kitchen table had the latest copy of The Derry Journal upon it last Friday morning, while all around are pictures of both family members and republican iconography. Still very much a Derry man although he has spent most of his life in Shannon, Charlie was chosen to speak at last Sunday’s Bloody Sunday commemoration in Ennis. He was actually supposed to be in Derry on the day of the massacre, and was a friend to two of those killed. “I was supposed to travel up there on Bloody Sunday itself but I couldn’t get away. I’d come down in 1970 to set up a factory in Newcastle West. I’d had to go up to …

MORE than 130 landowners in the Killaloe Municipal District have been contacted and reminded about their obligations to maintain hedges while the season is open until the end of February. The figure was revealed at last week’s meeting of the district committee, on foot of a motion from Councillor Pat Burke. The Whitegate member sought an update after raising the issue previously last November. There was widespread support when Councillor Burke raised the matter and told the meeting that drivers, particularly those in high-sided vehicles, were losing windscreens and wing mirrors on a regular basis.  In a written response to Councillor Burke, Niamh Madden, Senior Executive Engineer, said many landowners had complied with correspondence from the authority, but that a number of them had not.  “Between September 2021 and December 2021, one hundred and thirty five letters have been sent by the Killaloe Municipal District to land owners/occupiers outlining their obligations under under S70 of the Roads Act 1993 and …

MODEL plane enthusiast Michael Kelly whose collection is housed at Shannon Airport, met with Hollywood star John Travolta when he made a recent visit, writes Owen Ryan. Michael’s collection is one of the largest in the world, developed over several decades and it has been housed at Shannon Airport for the last three years, with many passengers stopping to take a look. On Saturday he met with the Pulp Fiction and Saturday Night Fever star at Travolta’s request. “Besides acting, he loves his aviation,” said Michael. “He was coming into Shannon Airport, and I’d be out there with model aviation and he had seen bits and pieces about me on YouTube. He wanted to see the gallery and catch up with me if he possibly could,” Michael told the Champion. “There’s a man working in the airport who was looking after his aircraft. He had a chat with him and he asked if he could possibly go up and see …