Regional

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 …

GARDAÍ have seized approximately €60,000 of suspected cannabis herb in Shannon. At approximately 9pm on Tuesday, August 31, gardaí attached to Shannon Garda Station conducted a search on lands in the Drumgeely area. During the course of this search two carrier bags were located. These were found to contain suspected cannabis herb, with an estimated value of €60,000. These drugs were seized and will be sent for forensic analysis. No arrests have been made as of yet, and Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was in the Drumgeely area last night from shortly before 9pm and thereafter who may have seen anything unusual to make contact with them. Anyone with information which may of assistance to this enquiry is asked to contact Shannon Garda Station on 061-365900 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

THE Shannon Group CEO has called for the public to use and support Aer Lingus’ Heathrow service from Clare’s airport as much as possible to ensure the route’s long-term future. Mary Considine was speaking this Wednesday ahead of the return of the Aer Lingus London Heathrow service to Shannon Airport on September 13. “It is great to see the Heathrow service return to Shannon in what has been, and continues to be, an extremely difficult period for the aviation sector,” said Ms Considine. “We will be working closely with Aer Lingus to build the service and to resume long-haul services, however, airlines make decisions on routes based on a number of factors, one of the most important of which is how many passengers will travel on their flight. “The best way to ensure the Heathrow service and indeed other routes, remain for the long term is for people to support them. “We have already seen encouraging up-take for the range …

A WOMAN has been airlifted to hospital after she was injured in a single-vehicle road traffic collision in Clare on Tuesday afternoon. The crash happened near Kilnaboy shortly after 3pm. National Ambulance Service paramedics; two units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennistymon station and Gardaí responded to the incident close to Poplar Bridge. The Cork-based charity-funded Irish Community Air Ambulance, Helimed 92, was also requested to respond to the scene. The car is understood to have collided with ditches on both sides of the road before overturning and coming to a stop on its roof. The female driver, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, was left trapped inside. No other vehicle was involved. Fire crews and paramedics worked together to safely remove the injured woman from the car. She was assessed and treated at the scene before being airlifted to University Hospital Galway for treatment. Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the collision.

CLARE County Council has announced that the lifeguard service at four of Clare’s most popular beaches is being extended this year. Lifeguards at Fanore, Lahinch, Kilkee and Spanish Point will be on duty full-time (11am-7pm, seven days a week) until Sunday, September 12. In previous years, these beaches were not lifeguarded during weekdays in September and had weekend cover only. The lifeguard service at Ballyalla, Bishops Quarter and Seafield will close fully today, Tuesday, August 31. There will be no weekday or weekend service at these locations after August 31. The lifeguard service at Mountshannon, Ballycuggeran Killaloe, Cappa, White Strand Doonbeg and White Strand Miltown Malbay will finish weekday service today, Tuesday, August 31, but will be open for the weekends of September 4-5 and September 11-12 (11am-7pm). Clare County Council advises that you should always swim at lifeguarded locations. For swimming advice and precautions, please visit the Water Safety Ireland website  https://watersafety.ie/recreation For information on beaches and bathing areas …