Regional

GARDAI in Ennis are appealing for witnesses following a burglary that occurred in the county town last week. Overnight between August 3 and 4, Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, between the hours of 8pm and 7am an apartment was broken into in Parnell St Apartments. Entry was gained by a communal door which was forced. Once inside the culprits made their way to a particular apartment which was unoccupied at the time. They gained entry by force. Some small items were stolen from the scene, most notably a Black Puma sports bag containing gents clothing. If anyone was in the area of Parnell Street, Ennis, Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, on the dates in question and saw anything suspicious or may have information which may assist Gardaì in this investigation, they are asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 – 6948100.

GARDAI in Clare seized a quantity of drugs following a raid of a house in west Clare at the weekend. Uniformed Gardaì in Kilrush searched a house under warrant at Knock, Kilrush on Saturday, August 7. Cannabis herb drugs to the value of €5000 were discovered. A person has been identified and an investigation is ongoing in relation to the sale and supply of drugs.

ENNIS has been described as “a ship without a captain” in terms of its development, due to the ongoing lack of an updated Local Area Plan (LAP). It follows the decision by county councillors to defer the County Development Plan (2022-2028) for seven months. The move has implications for the creation of the Ennis LAP, a process that started in 2015, but which was paused pending the finalisation of the county-wide plan. It also delays placing the Ennis 2040 plan on a statutory footing. Prominent Clare-based chartered building surveyor, Fergus Merriman voiced frustration saying he believes opportunities are being lost. “An Ennis LAP would be a field-by-field plan with clarity about acceptable development,” he said. “Ennis 2040 is a welcome long-term plan, but we cannot lose sight of day-to-day development. In the absence of a local plan, the risks are too high for many developers.” Mr Merriman noted that the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) wrote to the council …

GORT native Dr James Mahon has become one of the first doctors of mobile journalism after passing his examinations as a guest of Queens University Belfast in June, writes Conor Clohessy. The broadcast journalist, author and lecturer conducted field research with newsrooms of STV (Scotland), NDTV (India), CBS, WDEF and News 12 (USA) and Lemen Bleu (Switzerland) as part of a pioneering study between 2018 and 2019. James was looking into how digital technology is changing broadcasting around the world and found that in many situations these innovations in the workplace were cutting costs for the companies but also having an adverse effect on the older employees. James explained: “I found that this is an economic thing. You can argue that audiences want mobile content, livestreaming and social media content, of course they do. But you can also argue that it saves newsrooms hundreds of thousands of pounds.” While cost-cutting in most industries causes a stunt in innovation, James found …

FROM Camden Town to Carnegie Hall and from the Fleadhanna ‘down in Ennis’ to the Body and Soul stage at Electric Picnic, the Tulla Céilí Band has captivated audiences of all kinds for the last three-quarters of a century. Over the course of its illustrious history, the band has brought the tunes of East Clare to prominence in Ireland’s musical repertoire. It has also fostered some of the country’s finest traditional players, including West Clare legends like Willie Clancy and JC Talty. At one point, it even counted a TD as a member, in the person of the long-serving Fianna Fáil representative, Feakle’s Dr Bill Loughnane. The story of the Tulla Céilí Band is closely woven into the history of modern Ireland. It was formed in March 1946, in the lean times after ‘The Emergency’, when the bicycle was the dominant mode of transport and social life didn’t stretch far beyond parish boundaries. Chris Keane, in his book on the …

CLARE had some positive economic news lately, when OLED Material Manufacturing Limited and PPG combined to create 100 jobs in Shannon, taking the former Avara site in Shannon. Formerly of Roche in Clarecastle, Gerry Cahill is now the PPG Plant Manager for Shannon, as preparations begin for manufacturing. While there is a long and very successful history of US companies coming to Ireland, he says it was very complex during a pandemic, with the whole thing having to be arranged virtually. “One of the biggest challenges was the purchase of the site without ever physically being on the site. These guys have made quite a leap of faith. They’re currently leasing the site and early next year they’ll buy it. “Until last week, no one from either PPG or UDC had been on the site, it was all done virtually. The second biggest challenge is that the site had been closed down for a year. We’re starting to reactive systems, …

REAL concern about the spread of giant hogweed in south east Clare was voiced at the July meeting of Shannon Municipal District councillors, writes Owen Ryan. Councillor Michael Begley requested a “comprehensive programme” to eradicate it in the Clonlara, Mountcatherine and Gilloge areas, which would include both public and private lands. He said that there is a lot of frustration with how it is being dealt with, and that there is much if not more of it on private, rather than public lands. “We need a programme urgently,” he claimed. Councillor Begley said it is very important to get it at the right time of the year, and that changes to weed killers mean that more frequent treatment is required in the early stages of growth. He said that this year nearly all of the hogweed in the area had come to seed, and that if even one percent of what had come to seed came to root, the situation …

CLARE County Council has expressed concerns about the visual impact of a proposed holiday development near Ogonnelloe on a strategic regional road, writes Dan Danaher. John Walsh, c/o Roy O’Shea, 20 Lower Hartstonge Street, Limerick, recently lodged a planning application for a change of use from residential to recreational camping site, and the construction of six cabins for short stay accommodation, a gravel access path, seven car parking spaces, a waste water treatment system at Kilana Lodge, Rahena More, Ogonnelloe. The application also included the preparation of an Natura Impact Statement and ancillary works. In its request for further information, the local planning authority stated the information submitted with this application is insufficient to enable the authority to make a complete planning assessment of this proposal. The proposed site is accessed via a regional road R 463, which is a strategic regional route. The authority claimed the development proposal would result in an intensification of use of an existing entrance …