Shannon

In an exclusive interview with the Clare Champion, Conal Henry says he aims to get Shannon Group and the airport out in front of the challenges it will face in future PÁDRAIG Ó Céidigh lasted less than six months before resigning in frustration as chairman of Shannon Group, while his predecessor Rose Hynes faced often scathing criticism during her time in the role. Clearly being chairman of Shannon Group is a role that exposes one to widespread scrutiny. While someone with Conal Henry’s background certainly can’t have been convinced to take up the role for the money, why has the Belfast man accepted the role that Mr Ó Céidigh branded “the most challenging job in Irish aviation”? “First of all, and this sounds crass, but I really mean it, you don’t do things for money, you do things to deliver better outcomes, to effect change that benefits people. “I’m very happy getting involved in a project like Shannon, I find …

PLANNING permission has been granted for the construction of an air cargo hub and logistics/distribution facility at Shannon Airport. According to the planning application the facility would be 2705m2 in size, with an office area of 335m2. Shannon Group has held talks with Amazon about it opening a base at the airport, but it’s still unclear as to whether it has been lined up to use this facility. Regarding its location, the planner’s report on the application said, “The proposed 1.718 hectare greenfield site is located at Rineanna South, within the Shannon Airport lands. “It is north of the Shannon Estuary and south west of Shannon Town. The proposal would be accessed off the N19 and backs onto the airport runway. “The site is currently occupied by a manicured green area. There are large industrial buildings to the west of the proposal site, the runway to the north, the N19 to the south and more green area to the west. …

THE Shannon unit of the Order of Malta is marking 50 years of operations this year and is looking to get a premises of its own. At the March meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Donna McGettigan put forward a motion asking that the Council help the unit to acquire a place of its own. In a written response to her motion, Senior Executive Officer Jason Murphy said, “The team in Shannon MD recognises the valuable contribution the Order of Malta has made to the town and surrounding areas over the last 50years. “Shannon MD will work with the local group and explore available avenues to assist them in identifying suitable space.” Councillor McGettigan also proposed that a civic reception be afforded to the group. Lieutenant Eavan Dempsey is the officer in charge of the Shannon unit of the Order of Malta and she said it would be great if it finally had its own premises. “We don’t have anywhere …

TWO local girls are about to go to the World Irish Dancing Championships. Holly McKey will be dancing in the U-12 section, while Isabel Ryan will be in the under 16 competition. Irish dancing has quite a long history in the town, with what is now the Daniel Flanagan Academy of Irish Dance. It had previously been known as the Hackett Flanagan academy and before that again it was the Hackett School. Last November it had its first Munster Champion when Alex Carew took first place in the U-7 regional competition. Olivia Dullaghan is chairperson of the Parent’s Council of the Academy and she said that they are delighted to have children going to the Worlds. “They qualified pre-Covid, but because of Covid there were no World Championships. They’re going now, Holly is dancing on April 10 and Isabelle Ryan is dancing on April 12.” The competition is being held in Belfast this year. Olivia said that young people involved …

SOME of the town’s issues with flooding could be alleviated if the County Council cleaned out the local storm water infrastructure a councillor has claimed. Councillor Gerry Flynn put forward a motion at the Shannon Municipal District’s March meeting asking that the Council clean out all the storm water infrastructure in the town. He claimed a lack of necessary maintenance is causing a lot of flooding issues throughout Shannon and deemed the current Council policy to be “reactionary”. “I believe a more proactive approach is necessary to improve this facility as a lot of necessary gullies and silt channels are restricted and are less effective due to the lack of regular maintenance.” A written response from Senior Executive Engineer Tom Mellett claimed that doing the work suggested is already a priority and that a lot has been done. “Recent weather events have highlighted what is an ongoing concern for this office. “In relation to drainage works the Shannon Municipal District …

EMPLOYMENT in a Shannon aviation company will more than treble over a six year-period from this Friday when a new takeover of a neighbouring business takes off. Atlantic Aviation Group (AAG) employs 320 in its existing hangar, 120 in its UK base and will take on about 300 new employees from Lufthansa Technik. The new hangar, which is almost three times the size of the AAG building, can accommodate nine narrow body Ryanair sized aircraft or two wide body and four narrow body aircraft. Back in April 2015, when investor Patrick Jordan bought the company it was employing about 217. Revenue have grown from €15 million to a projected figure of €80 million by the end of the year, with AAG chief executive, Shane O’Neill expecting growth to more than €100 million over the coming years. Barring some unexpected major setback, Mr O’Neill believes overall employment could increase up to 1,000 in a few years. AAG services, maintains and repairs …

SHANNON had its first ever Parkrun last Saturday morning, with scores of people coming out for the occasion.  Parkruns are free community-based, volunteer-led events which take place on a Saturday morning at 9:30am in many countries worldwide – Ireland has over 100 events currently.   Rob Stephen was instrumental in establishing the Shannon one and speaking about the first local event, he said, “The sun was out, the weather was great. We had around 150 people participating and about 15 people volunteering. It went very well, there was a good crowd volunteering. “One woman flew over from London to do it, she stayed locally in a hotel then, she’s a big enthusiast. There was a big crew from the Parkrun in Tralee, a couple came from Naas. “Obviously there was a good few local people too and people came from the other nearby Parkruns.” He said that the crowd won’t be as big this Saturday, but that it is hoped around …

WHEN Pádraig Ó Céidigh was appointed chairman of Shannon Group last September it was seen as very positive for the airport, but he resigned in frustration last week, after less than six months in situ. The chairman is involved in setting the strategic direction of the airport and the wider Shannon Group and as such is very important to the regional economy. Following his resignation Mr Ó Céidigh declined to be interviewed by the Clare Champion, but sources say that he was very frustrated. The source said he felt it was proving very difficult to pursue the objectives that he wanted, and that he found it difficult to forge positive relationships with certain other people within the Group. Given his experience in aviation and the level of success he enjoyed, the Ó Céidigh appointment last year was seen as a smart one, and the Galway man was clearly enthusiastic about taking on the role at the outset. Following the decision …