Regional

A MYSTERY figure has been detected in a photograph of the carriage of the West Clare Railway. May Byrne, who visited the Moyasta last summer, recently contacted Jackie Whelan, who operates the tourist attraction, when she spotted a lone figure in the carriage of the Slieve Callan steam engine. Her husband, Ray, who is adamant that there was nobody on the train at the time, took the photograph. “He is 100% certain that there was nobody on the train at the time. Mr Whelan was giving the tour in the station and Ray took the photograph while there was no people on the train,” May Byrne explained. Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, Jackie Whelan was equally adamant that the train was unoccupied at the time. “There definitely wasn’t anyone on board and I’ll tell you why. There was a crowd of people there together and they all came off the train. The standard practice is that when the …

FOUR families in Kilcredaun, Carrigaholt were marooned on Monday when high tide hit the picturesque townland, which is home to an historic lighthouse. The flooding has resulted in the townland of Kilcredaun on the Loop Head peninsula being rendered effectively an island. A total of six houses were cut off by the flooding in recent days. The grounds of the nearby O’Curry’s Irish College has also been hit by flooding following the breaching of a wall. Meanwhile,  a number of houses in Carrigaholt village were hit by flooding when the village wall was breached at high tide. Locals are very concerned that their difficulties will be exacerbated should further storms hit the area in the coming days.

RESIDENTS at Dooras, O’Callaghan’s Mills have been “trapped” in their homes since water levels began rising on the road outside their homes at Christmas. Some locals opted to abandon their homes taking up alternative accommodation, while others who had managed to traverse the flood in jeeps and tractors over Christmas week, are now unable to leave as water levels hit upwards of three feet. Flooding on this narrow stretch of road, which is a cul de sac, has been a feature of the area for many years, with residents having to resort to boats, or abandoning their homes until it subsided. However, in previous years the water abated much quicker. There are four houses on this stretch of road. Residents say although their houses have not been flooded the road servicing the properties is completely submerged and is extremely dangerous to even attempt to travel on as there is an eight to ten feet drop on either side of the …

UP to 1,000 acres of farmland in the Ballynacally/Kildysart area was flooded on Sunday, as a result of a major breach in the Shannon Estuary embankment. Over 50 farmers in the area have been affected – 43 in Ballynacally and the remainder in Kildysart. Kildysart graveyard has also been flooded, which has caused further distress to locals. At a public meeting, attended by elected representatives, in Ballynacally community centre, a formal appeal for Government intervention was made.  Efforts are to be made as soon as possible to assess the cost of the damage to support the appeal. There are no reports of the loss of livestock but in one instance fodder had to be brought to two horses isolated on raised ground. On many farms, however, silage bales have been left under several feet of water, which will cause an additional financial burden for farmers. John Joe O’Sullivan, whose farm in Ballynacally includes a parcel of corcass, said his holding …

A SURFER had a miraculous escape in North Clare after he made it safely ashore in storm force winds and dangerous seas. Doolin Coast Guard team was called to the incident in Lahinch on Thursday evening at 5 o’clock when a member of the public reported what they thought was possibly a person in the water. The sea was rough at the time, according to Station Officer Mattie Shannon, and Doolin Coast Guard unit team members went to the location and searched the area. They found no evidence of anyone in the water until a surfer reported that another surfer was overdue. Against the odds, in darkness and difficult sea conditions, the surfer made it back to shore at approximately 6.50pm. He was assisted and treated for hypothermia by Coast Guard members until the HSE Ambulance arrived. He was then taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

2014 started well for a young Dublin couple after they claimed their prize on Thursday in the Christmas Millionaire Raffle. Their ticket was one of two €100,000 winning tickets sold in County Clare. Lauren Doyle and Patrick O’Sullivan picket up €100,000 in the Christmas Millionaire Raffle draw on Tuesday evening. Lauren’s aunt gave the couple the lucky ticket for Christmas. “It’s the best Christmas present ever,” said Lauren. “We got engaged in November so this will definitely help with the wedding.” The winning ticket number is 098 894 and it was bought in the Post Office, Bank Place in Ennis, Co. Clare on Thursday, December 19. A second ticket worth €100,000 was also sold in Ennis. The winning ticket number is 005 294 and it was sold in O’Dowds, Turnpike Road on Saturday, November 9. The winner has not yet made contact with the National Lottery. The winner of the €1 million winning ticket has not yet claimed the prize. …

The East Clare based national charity, Irish Seed Savers, was dealt a financial blow in recent months arising from funding cuts, which led to redundancies at the facility. Last month it launched an online campaign at www.indiegogo.com to raise funds to help save the facility and secure its future. Although nowhere near the €100,000 it needs, funds are trickling in and to date, over €4,000 has been pledged. Irish Seed Savers Association was set up in 1991 to save Ireland’s heritage and heirloom vegetable seeds, potatoes, grains and fruit trees from extinction. Since then it has grown to a stage where it has over 800 varieties of organic, open pollinated heritage seeds in a purpose seed bank, which was opened in 2012 by President Michael D Higgins. Speaking at that time President Higgins said, “From little acorns, oak trees grow and from modest beginnings in 1991, the Irish Seed Savers Association has grown to such an extent that impressively it now …

CLARE County Council is urging home and business owners, particularly those in low lying coastal areas, to take precautionary steps in view of Met Éireann’s weather advisory for the coming days. Coastal locations in the West of Ireland are expected to be affected by heavy rainfall, tidal surges and severe gales on Thursday night and Friday. Clare County Council, in conjunction with the Emergency Services, says it is progressing contingency arrangements in terms of additional pumping capacity and other flood alleviation measures at flood prone locations. The Council confirmed that river levels have increased significantly over the past week, and arrangements have been put in place to continuously monitor the situation. In light of the high river levels, land, home and business owners along with motorists are being urged to exercise increased vigilance concerning the potential for localised flooding. Flooding advice is available on www.flooding.ie. Information included on the website includes advice on identifying flooding risks, protecting property against flooding, …