Regional

SUCH is the lack of public street lighting at St Patrick’s Terrace in Kilkee, Councillor Paddy Collins has likened the local authority estate to “the Black Hole of Calcutta”.The Black Hole of Calcutta was the guard room in the old Fort William, at Calcutta, India where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the Fort on June 19, 1756.With reference to the absence of sufficient light at St Patrick’s Terrace, Councillor Collins claimed that it is impossible to see the housing estate once it gets dark, adding that the bulb has blown in the one public light that normally works.“If you passed St Patrick’s Terrace (at night) you wouldn’t know it was there. Now the only lights you can see are Christmas lights,” he said.“There’s only one light there at the moment and the bulb is gone. It has been gone for a week. There are no lights in St …

  THE work done on restoring Loughnane and Quinn Memorial Hall in Labane was recognised at the Galway County Heritage Awards which took place in Claregalway last week.The committee in charge of the memorial hall’s major conservation and restoration project was awarded second place in the Loughrea Electoral Area section of the awards which seek to acknowledge voluntary contributions to the county’s heritage.There were 13 nominations from the Loughrea Electoral Area where Comhar Creidmheasa Naomh Breandáin in Loughrea scooped the top award. The other nominees were Carrabane National School, Carrabane, Athenry; Craughwell National School; Doorus Orchard Project, Kinvara; Eoghan Mac Cormaic and Pádraig Ó Baoill, GLÓR-Gaeilge Locha Riach; Karen O’Neill, Ardrahan Heritage Group; Kileeneen National School, Clarinbridge; Kilnadeema National School; Killeenadeema History and Heritage Society; Scoil Chiaráin Naofa, Kinvara and Saint Joseph’s National School, Woodford.Speaking at the awards ceremony, Councillor Tom McHugh, Mayor of County Galway, said, “Our heritage belongs to each one of us and it is vital that …

CLARE County Council has issued a compulsory purchase order notice for confirmation to An Board Pleanála in respect of lands at Clashmore, Feakle, which it requires to carry out necessary road junction improvements.The mayor, county manager and county secretary signed off on the compulsory purchase order on December 1 and in a public document, the authority outlined its intention of improving the junction between Scariff and Feakle in the townland of Clashmore. An area of agricultural land measuring 0.0158 hectares and 0.0456 hectares of a public road, which are both in the ownership of James Denis Anthony Conway, is the subject of the compulsory purchase order. If the order is confirmed by An Board Pleanála, it will authorise the council to acquire this land for the purpose of carrying out junction improvement works, which will consist of setting back boundaries in order to improve sight distance for traffic travelling between Scariff and Feakle. This is where the L80381 and R461 …

Pupils and teachers at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla said farewell to outgoing school principal Jim Cooney recently as he embarked on his retirement following 38 years of service to education.Jim was the principal at St Joseph’s for the past seven years, prior to that he taught at St Patrick’s Comprehensive in Shannon, where he worked for 30 years. It was not easy, however, for Jim to leave the school last week. He admits that it was extremely difficult because he had such an attachment to the school, its staff and to the community of Tulla.“It was a particular challenge to take up the principal’s job in the school where I am from. I warmed to the school immediately. I warmed to staff and the community and I was very lucky in the staff that I got when I came there. They have been great people to work with. They are very committed to the school and dedicated and …

A NORTH Clare man has just released an EP to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the Christmas Truce, which took place in World War I. Jerry Lynch from Kilfenora recorded Requiem For a Soldier, which he co-produced with Don Mullan to honour the remarkable 1914 event.“I decided to make this recording to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the Christmas Truce in 1914 which is coming up this Christmas. I had heard a few songs I felt would make a nice themed package for this occasion and I think anyone who has heard the album has been impressed. The two duets with Sarah Dolan, and Liam Lawton’s The Cloud’s Veil combined with my own song make a lovely mixture. John Condon is a very moving song which reminds us of all the men who were only boys and suffered in this awful war,” Jerry told The Clare Champion.Jerry is from a well-known family in North Clare, many of whom are involved …

THIS year, the Christmas market in Ballyvaughan Community Hall will run on two weekends before Christmas, this Saturday and Sunday as well as the following Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20.   As well as many familiar faces from the Ballyvaughan Farmers’ Market, a number of other food producers from North Clare will take part in the Christmas events, offering an unrivalled variety of quality food produce, much of it with a festive theme. Among the products available will be seasonal vegetables and fruit, traditional home baking including breads, cakes, biscuits and confectionary, locally produced cheeses, honey and fruit wines, handmade preserves such as jellies, pickles, chutneys, flavoured oils, jams and sauces, quality olive oil, wines, food hampers, along with mistletoe and plants and flowers for both inside and outside the house specially suited to the winter season.  There will also be a wide selection of meats and fish available each day.Alongside the food produce will be a varied selection …

  South Galway, famous for its influence on Ireland’s literary heritage, could soon be equally well-known for its impact on the modern Australian political landscape if Gort Lion’s Club gets its way.The club is currently pursuing a plan to erect a memorial to one of Gort’s most powerful and far reaching sons, Paddy McMahon Glynn. As well as running a legal practice and editing a newspaper, the busy South Galway man also held two ministries, a role as Australian Attorney General and even had a hand in drafting his adopted country’s constitution.“The McMahon Glynn family were from Gort and their original home is understood to be the site of the AIB bank in the town. I think it was a general store at the time. Paddy McMahon Glynn was the third of 11 children and received his primary education with the Sister’s of Mercy in Gort before qualifying as a solicitor and moving to Australia in 1880,” explains Peter Minihane …

  Gort Chamber of Commerce is urging people in its hinterland to support local businesses after extensive flooding caused major disruption to its traditionally strong pre-Christmas trading. According to the chamber, a number of businesses in the town were forced to close due to flooding on their premises, while others closed because of a lack of customers. There is concern, however, that some of these closures will be permanent if companies cannot recover from the loss of business caused by the closure of the N18 and a number of secondary routes into Gort.“Businesses are very concerned because this should have been their busiest time of year but the floods seriously affected access to the town. Some people have closed their shops because they were so quiet. There was no traffic getting through. If all the access routes to the town don’t open soon and remain open, some people fear that they might have to stay closed because they haven’t made …