Shannon

IT has now been confirmed that Tesco is coming back to Shannon Town Centre after a 16 year absence. The retailer will actually be returning to the area of the Centre where it was once based, with the reopening set to happen in the near future. Shannon Town Centre manager Kacper Zybert said that the deal has been concluded with Tesco. “It has been confirmed, everything has been set up, they will be here shortly,” he said. He said that the final date of Tesco opening hasn’t been established yet. “It depends on a few things, I don’t have the date yet,” he said. “What’s happening at the moment is that Dealz has to be moved and until we have the unit finished for Dealz then they can’t come in.” However he hoped it will be very soon, potentially by the end of April. “We have the Dealz unit nearly ready. All we have to do is glaze the windows …

PEACE group Shannonwatch have organised what it calls “a major national mobilisation” against the US military use of Shannon Airport, which will take place this Sunday. The demonstration will call for an immediate end to the use of the airport by the American military, and it is being supported by a number of antiwar organisations and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign. It comes on the back of a number of recent protests at the airport, one of which restricted passengers ability to use escalators in the terminal, and another which saw people go past the perimeter fencing around the runway. “We welcome the Irish government’s calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and their intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel,” said Edward Horgan of Shannonwatch. “However, this means nothing if they don’t do everything in their power to cut off the supply of weapons and other support to Israel. “One of the immediate actions Ireland must take is to …

THIRTY seven year old Keith McNamara from Cluain Airne is running in the upcoming local elections as an independent. “I’ve been thinking about it for a number of years. The town is being neglected in some ways,” he said. “There are lots of maintenance issues, its public spaces have been neglected, and I want to represent the voice of the people of Shannon. I feel like it has been underrepresented a little bit for the past couple of years. “I was never a member of a party. I like politics, I’ve been interested in it since I was in my teens. “I’ve also been involved in numerous community groups since I was a teenager. I like being involved with things that contribute to a better life for everyone, planning for the future and contributing to the town and its environs.” On his current community involvement, he said, “Currently I’m involved with Wolfe Tones, I’m a member of Limerick Lawn Tennis …

AN art exhibition entitled Horizons, featuring work by members of Shannon Men’s Shed is going on display in the Library on this Thursday. It is part of Creative Places Shannon, an initiative of Clare Arts Office, which saw a six week art course run with participants from the Men’s Shed. Working under the guidance of artist David O’Rourke, the group has produced magnificent vibrant landscape paintings. David has exhibited nationally and internationally and has also been involved in almost all aspects of art locally, from setting up artists’ collectives to working with community groups and as an educator in local schools. Derek Clune is a member of the Men’s Shed and is one of those that has been taking the art classes over the last number of weeks. He says that all those participating have got a lot out of it. “It’s great for the men. There are people who would never have thought of art and wouldn’t have painted …

WITH Spring in the air, the Ballycasey based Clare Cricket Club will be getting back in action quite shortly. Richard Morton is secretary of the club and he said that its players will begin training after Easter and it’ll soon be all go at the club grounds. “We put down a proper, professional grade, artificial cricket strip there last year,” he said. “We’ve reseeded the ground with proper cricket grass seed and we’re going into our second full season with our home pitch.” While all are welcome at the club, most of the players are based in Shannon. “We do draw members from all over Clare and increasingly fellows come up from Limerick to play with us,” said Richard. “But it has always been based in Shannon and the core of the playing members are based in Shannon. “We have a lot of guys who have come in from different places, like myself, and they’re working in the Shannon Free …

AHEAD of International Women’s Day last Friday, representatives of Shannon Airport Group paid a visit to some younger members of its local community to deliver an important message about gender diversity. Students from St. John’s National School in Shannon were asked to draw three different job roles in Shannon Airport; a fire fighter, a police officer and an engineer. Research has shown that children start to form perceptions of gender roles from as early as two years, with such perceptions typically fully formed by the age of seven. During this lesson, over 70% of children in the classroom, aged between four and eight, depicted male representations of fire fighters, police officers and engineers in their drawings. At the end of the lesson, there was a surprise waiting for the children, when they were told that they were going to meet the people they had drawn working at the airport in real life. Much to the children’s surprise, three female employees …

This year has gotten off to a flying start at Shannon Airport for the new recruits to the airport’s Police and Fire Service (APFS), who were selected following an exhaustive process which saw the number of applicants being whittled down from more than 150 to just 11. The new candidates, who commenced their training in January, are currently undergoing an intensive three-month programme which will equip them with the necessary skills to work in the combined role of airport police and fire service personnel. The recruits, hailing from across Clare and Limerick, come from a wide variety of backgrounds and previous industries. As part of the training programme, the new recruits will be covering a range of topics in Aviation Firefighting and Aviation Security to ensure they are competent to carry out the role as an Airport Police Fire Service member. Elements of the course will include Emergency Communications and Alerting Facilities, Fire Dynamics, Extinguishing Agents and Firefighting Techniques, Search …

SHANNON Fine Art student, Asha Murray, has been named the first ever recipient of the TUS Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) Global Travel Award, worth €5,000. The inaugural award ceremony was held on the Technological University of the Shannon’s Clare Street Limerick Campus last week as part of the inaugural Masters in Fine Art Exhibition reception. As the first ever winner of the award, Asha plans to use the funding to enrol in a master class in Berlin, and complete internships in some of the most recognised art galleries across the world. “This award will allow me to continue to achieve the goals I have set out for myself after leaving LSAD and to support me to reach them; whilst also giving me the confidence that I can make a place for myself in a global sense,” she said. The moving images artist plans to enrol in a film course or workshop in Berlin. “The course I have …