Regional

Despite the recent flooding in the county, there is no major emergency plan in place to deal with a re-occurrence in Kilrush.“Following recent flooding events within the county, a review will be taking place of Clare County Council’s major emergency plan and will be adjusted or modified as required,” Kilrush town engineer Derek Troy said in a written statement at last week’s Kilrush Town Council meeting.He was replying to Councillor Ian Lynch’s request for details of the Kilrush town emergency plan in the event of adverse weather conditions.“All works and emergency procedures that relate to Kilrush town are covered under Clare’s major emergency plan. Kilrush Town Council does not have an individual one for the town and there are no current plans to develop a major emergency plan specific to Kilrush,” Mr Troy added.Councillors pointed out that several parts of Kilrush, notably the Ennis and Cappa roads and the area near the handball alley, were badly affected by the recent …

  A Kinvara-based entrepreneur with a fresh approach to the recession scooped a prize worth €60,000 at an awards ceremony held in Limerick recently.Tom Hayes of Talent Tank was unveiled as the Galway winner of this year’s Impact Media Elevate Award. The prize includes an advertising package, full marketing, design and PR services, print services, legal advice and a photographic session.Tom’s unique online service, TalentTank.ie, links people who are looking for job opportunities with employers who need fresh talent.This novel answer to the country’s financial woes made a big impression on Elevate judges Pat McDonagh of Supermacs, Tom Murphy of Total Shaving Solution and Niall McGarry of Impact Media, who chose Talent Tank over strong competition from Grab Radio and iBuyVochers.com.Talent Tank will now benefit from the fund designed to elevate emerging entrepreneurs to a whole new level.Tom told The Clare Champion, “Up until August 2009, we were inundated with users, so we know that the concept is massive. We …

THE Loughnane and Quinn Memorial Hall in Labane secured a prize at the Galway County Heritage Awards recently but this was not the only highlight in what was a very busy year for the committee.“2009 has ended very well for the committee, despite a long and very trying year. On Wednesday, December 2 the committee won second place in the Galway County Heritage Awards in the Loughrea Electoral Area. There was stiff competition for this prize and it was a well-deserved win for members of the committee and of the community, who have worked tirelessly for a number of years to bring the hall back to its former glory,” Philip Gleeson, the hall’s PRO told The Clare Champion.“Most notable of this year’s highlights was the refurbishment of the hall in time for the ordination of local man Fr Martin Whelan. This was a huge event in the life of the whole community,” he continued.Much restoration work has been done on …

Building work on Crusheen Railway Station is likely to begin in 2010 if funding applied for by Iarnród Éireann is sanctioned early in the New Year, according to Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley. Iarnród Éireann has submitted a scheme for formal approval to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Clare TD expects that funding will be sanctioned early next year.“This is a major breakthrough in the long-running saga of the opening of a rail station at Crusheen on the Western Rail Corridor. For a number of years now, very considerable effort has been undertaken to ensure that a station at Crusheen would open once more. Now that Iarnród Éireann have been able to put together a viable proposal together with a local developer and Clare County Council, I believe that the construction of the station will begin in the coming year,” deputy Dooley stated.“The dogged effort of the local Crusheen Railway Committee has been instrumental in …

Teachers in a North Clare school will travel to France early next month as part of a European cultural education programme. Two teachers from St Flannan’s National School in Inagh will go to Avignon as part of the Comenius programme, which the school has been taking part in since September.Run by Léargas in Ireland, Comenius seeks to develop knowledge, understanding and appreciation among young people and education staff of the diversity of European cultures and languages. It also aims to help young people acquire basic life skills for their personal development for future employment and active European citizenship. Children from St Flannan’s have been busy since work began on the project at the beginning of the school year learning about their own culture and heritage as well as that of their European counterparts. According to Caroline McGeary, the co-ordinator of Comenius in the school, the project has been time-consuming for the pupils but also integrates well with the overall curriculum.“Our …

Edel Greene and Margaret McNamara, cuairteoirí with Cuimhneamh an Chláir, visited a group of East Clare residents in Raheen last week, where each individual recalled past memories of predicting the weather, ghost stories and socialising.With seven and eight-day weather forecasts available to us at the click of a mouse these days, it will seem alien to many that the older members of the community had to look to the sky to find out what tomorrow’s weather would be like.Edel and Margaret, in their recording session with East Clare residents Flan O’Brien, Jimmy Lynch, Patrick Joe Nihill, Eleanor Murphy and Louis Corbett, discussed what kind of signs they looked out for to know if bad weather was in store.Some recalled that if they saw two rainbows in the sky, or a ring around the moon or saw “the moon lying on its back,” then it wasn’t a good sign. Others recalled the goats coming down the mountain and into their houses …

THE Sliabh Aughty Players has been in existence for 20 years. It was formed late in 1989, when it was decided to reform and re-establish a drama group in the Mountshannon area.Its predecessor, The Mountshannon Players, was originally founded in the late-1960s, performing both one-act and three-act plays in Mountshannon hall. Despite the long-running tradition of drama in the area, the group became inactive throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with members joining the Scariff Drama Group.In 1989, the old Mountshannon-based group was re-formed under the name Sliabh Aughty Players, with Maud Nash again at the helm. Maud was one of the founding members of the group and one of the few remaining continuous links with the group to this day. Maud’s name was synonymous with drama and she was the backbone of the group for many years.The group’s first production was John B Keane’s The Field, which was to prove the perfect vessel to sail the Sliabh Aughty Players to …

  THE new SkyCourt Adoration Chapel opened on Tuesday afternoon and was blessed by Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh.Located in the Town Square, it replaces the old oratory in SkyCourt, which opened in 1976.The chapel was developed at a cost of €250,000 and can accommodate 60 people, although there was a larger crowd at Tuesday’s opening with the congregation spilling out the doors. Writing in the booklet that was distributed at the opening, parish priest, Fr Tom Ryan said it was a very significant moment for the parish. “On an occasion like today, there is an undoubted sense of nostalgia as we consider all those who helped build and give shape to our parish over the past 42 years and who have gone to their eternal reward. I thank all who have helped make this oratory a reality; the owners of SkyCourt, Shannon Development Company, parishioners and friends who use this place as part of their daily lives. Our ceremony …