Regional

HIDDEN secrets of Drumcliff and Templemaley graveyards have been revealed as part of a joint initiative between the Clare Roots Society and the Clare Archaeological and Historical Society.Last week, both societies launched their booklets exploring the backgrounds of the local burial grounds. On the evening of the launch, Larry Brennan, Eric Shaw and Fiona de Buitléir of the Roots Society gave a guided tour of Drumcliff Graveyard. This was followed by a visit to Templemaley Graveyard, where Mary Kearns and Edel Greene discussed the church and older burials there.The Roots Society introduced its booklet, Drumcliff Cemetery: The Hidden History of Ennis and the Archaeological Society launched its booklet, Templemaley Graveyard. The booklets give a background to the burial in Drumcliff and Templemaley and the transcriptions of gravestones within the graveyards.The Drumcliff book, compiled and edited by Larry Brennan and Eric Shaw, is a joint initiative between the Roots Society and Ennis Tidy Towns. It contains articles on the history of …

A LANDSCAPED green area that has been developed on the site of the former Tradaree Court Flats, the scene of ongoing anti-social behaviour since the flats became derelict, was officially opened this week.Acting Mayor of Shannon, Michael Fleming was joined by Mayor of Clare, Councillor Christy Curtin to mark the occasion by joining with members of the project team and officials from Clare County Council in a tree-planting ceremony. The apartments, which were built in the 1970s to house single-parent families, comprised 30 one-bed apartments. They formed part of the property portfolio taken over by Clare County Council from Shannon Development in 2004.The flats, which were in a deteriorating condition, were finally vacated with the re-homing of last occupant in August 2009. The two apartment blocks were demolished in December 2010 allowing for the reinstatement of the ground for the provision of a green area. The project, which was included in the council’s Social Housing Investment Programme in 2009, was …

SHANNON Airport has welcomed a procedural change for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that clears a significant hurdle with regard to capitalising on business aviation opportunities for the airport. Welcoming the revised procedures by US authorities, which will enable much faster turn-around for business jets, Shannon Airport director Mary Considine said this is a very important development for the airport. The announcement comes ahead of a business aviation conference titled Financial Solutions for Business Aircraft (FiSBA), co-hosted by Shannon Airport and Shannon Development on June 29 and June 30 at the Strand Hotel, Limerick. The potential for significant global private jet operations out of Shannon Airport is set to be explored as part of the first ever business aviation conference to be held in Ireland. Shannon Airport in 2009 became the first airport in the world to offer full US pre-clearance. “This change in procedure clears one of the most important hurdles that was in our way in terms …

SIX potential routes for a major new €40 million ring road around Limerick City have been unveiled by local authorities.Clare County Council, in conjunction with Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council, has commenced the planning process to advance the development of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road and associated infrastructure from a location on the eastern end of the proposed Coonagh-Knockalisheen Strategic Route to a tie-in with the R445 (old N7) in County Limerick.The scheme will comprise the design and construction of approximately10km of road, which will include a crossing of the Ardnacrusha Tailrace and the River Shannon, together with possible crossings of the Blackwater and Mulkear Rivers.It has emerged that there will be only one crossing of the Head Race Canal at the Tail Race between Parteen village and the ESB Station in Ardnacrusha. It is understood the ESB ruled out other crossings in the area due to costs.Four possible crossing points coinciding with roundabouts on the Dublin side …

BRENDAN Cooney will be hoping for calm conditions when he starts a 123km kayak trip from Athlone Weir, County Westmeath to Two Mile Gate in Killaloe on Thursday.If the going gets tough, the 52-year-old Quin man will draw inspiration from the memory of his late mother, Nancy, who died with Alzheimer’s in September 1999.Even though he hasn’t set any monetary target for the demanding challenge, he hopes it will increase awareness for Alzheimer’s and the need to support services.After developing Alzheimer’s in 1996, Nancy received great support from the Clarecastle and District Day Care Centre, which also helped to provide some respite for her sister-in-law, Helen Cooney who was taking care of her until she died.The Inspector of Navigation in Waterways Ireland, Charlie Lawn has been a great help to Brendan, while his brother, Austin has helped him out with his training over the last few months and will also provide shore support during the challenge. As part of his …

St Fineen’s Hall in Quin will open its doors this weekend after a major overhaul and redevelopment, which aims to see the community facility re-established as a vibrant centre in Quin. Since it first opened 70 years ago, St Fineen’s Hall has been at the centre of most aspects of community life, from great dances with some of the biggest bands of the day to plays and bingo. Sadly, as the years went on, these activities ceased and ‘the hall’, as it is simply still known, began to fall into a bad state of repair, despite the efforts of various committees.However, a new committee formed five years ago, chaired by the late Sarah Lennon, set about bringing a programme of both repair and development to revitalise the hall and bring it back to its former glory as a vibrant community centre. Phase one was completed a year later and was aided significantly through the support of the community and the …

Details for acts visiting East Clare for the Scariff Harbour Festival have been announced, with Mundy, Paddy Casey and The Celtic Tenors topping the bill for the ninth annual event, which takes place from July 28 to July 31. Such is the level of excitement about this year’s festival that people will be coming to Scariff by all means possible, including parachute. As part of the line up of events, a skydiving display with world-class skydivers will take place, where the skilled team will jump from 4,000ft in a dizzying display and land with pinhead-precision in Craven’s field.The festival continues to develop and attract ever-growing numbers of people. The festival offers a range of activities highlighting the many attractions of the area and catering to all ages and tastes. A festival is not complete without music and once again the programme will feature a mix of genres from jazz and folk to traditional music.The headlining act for this year’s event …

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to change the use of an animal skin and hide curing and storage facility to a materials recovery facility has been refused by An Bord Pleanála.Walsh Waste Ltd proposed that the materials recovery facility would process and recycle construction and demolition waste, as well as dry recyclables from municipal waste at a site between Gort and Loughrea in Kilchreest. The company behind the project submitted the application in November last year and Galway County Council granted permission for the project in January. This, however, was appealed by Kilchreest National School board of management and a number of local residents.The board of management objected to the development on the grounds that the school is located opposite a busy junction “currently supporting significant truck movements taking material from two quarries”. Additional truck movements associated with the proposed facility would “be excessive and would increase health and safety concerns (noise, dust, exhaust fumes) to an unacceptable level,” the group’s objection …