South Clare

A GROUP of angry residents in Parteen are organising a demonstration to oppose the proposed preferred route for the second phase of the controversial €100 million Limerick Northern Distributor Road.It is planned to hold a protest march on Saturday, February 11, starting at 10am through the village of Parteen. Residents are asking everyone concerned or affected, and those in neighbouring communities, to come out and show their support and solidarity.Over 200 residents of Parteen, Ardnacrusha and Clonlara voiced their strong objections against the route at a public meeting in Parteen National School on Monday night. It was decided to establish a new steering group to prepare an action opposition plan in addition to raising public awareness about the route.A number of residents and political representatives expressed their frustration and surprise that a Draft Constraints Study prepared for Clare County Council has not been made available to the public.One of the key aims of the meeting was to push back the …

UP to €20,000 could be spent on marketing and promoting the first Discover Day in Lough Derg at the end of April, following a great response to a local tourism initiative.Waterways Ireland and Fáilte Ireland have committed to providing €10,000 to promote an open day showcasing all the visitor attractions, amenities and what businesses have to offer in Killaloe and Ballina.It is hoped matching funding will be provided by other agencies and/or local authorities, such as Clare and North Tipperary County Council for the event, which promoters believe will attract thousands of visitors to the lake district.Sunday, April 29 has already been pencilled in as a possible date for the Discover Day, which aims to create local tourism ambassadors to play a key role in highlighting what is on offer for visitors and tourists all year round.It is expected a local steering group will be set up following another meeting on Wednesday, February 15. This group will spearhead the plans …

A PROTECTED species of frog could present a planning hiccup for controversial plans to split Parteen in two to facilitate the preferred route for the €100 million Limerick Northern Distributor Road, a new group has claimed.The Environmental Group of Parteen has warned the emerging preferred route crosses rural farmland, which is home to a protected species of frog.Known as the common frog (Rana Temporaria) it is fairly plentiful in Ireland but is protected under an EU directive because of declining numbers in Europe. The directive aims to protect some 220 habitats and lists approximately 1,000 species, including the frog.The new community group in Parteen is considering organising a public demonstration in the near future to vent its anger and staunch opposition to the new route. Its main aim is to submit to and participate in the consultation process for the proposed Limerick Northern Distributor Road. In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, the group predicts a road of this …

OVER 100 written submission were received from the public and organisations as part of the public consultation process for the new €100million Northern Relief Road, Clare County Council has revealed.Senior engineer Tom Tiernan stressed any further submissions will be considered in detail concerning the emerged preferred route.Mr Tiernan reiterated the process facilitating selection of the Preferred Route Corridor for the project and further stages of its development is clearly set out through regulation and is designed to facilitate public consultation in an open and transparent manner.  He explained that extensive research, survey work, investigations and so on were carried out by consultants throughout the Constraints Study Area and the information gathered in association with submissions received from the general public in 2010 led to the publication of a number of feasible route options in June 2011. At that time, a public consultation event was held in the Greenhills Hotel, Limerick and this was followed by a four-week public consultation period.“Throughout …

Providing a new Shannon crossing and associated link roads in Killaloe and Ballina could “bridge” a total investment of €63 million, a local Minister of State has claimed.Minister for Public Transport and Commuter Affairs, Alan Kelly estimates the construction of a new bridge linking Ballina and Killaloe, a Killaloe Bypass and upgrading of the Ballina to Birdhill regional road costing over €40.6m could deliver an overall €63m boost to the local economy, between construction and the savings on journey times.Minister Kelly made the claim after Transport Minister Leo Varadkar approved the allocation of €500,000 to Clare County Council allowing the River Shannon Crossing Project to be brought forward to An Bord Pleanála for consideration.Minister Varadkar approved the publication of the Statutory Orders by Clare County Council for the construction of the Killaloe Bypass (€11.93m), the Shannon Bridge Crossing (€12m), Killaloe Bypass (€11.93m) and upgrading works costing €16.6m on the existing regional road linking Ballina and Birdhill last July.“This will progress …

Thousands of voters find themselves “alienated” due to the inclusion of the Ballyglass Electoral District in the neighbouring Limerick East constituency, a West Limerick Deputy has claimed.

AN award-winning Ardnacrusha-based retired steeplejack is bidding to climb the literary ladder by writing a new autobiography on her extraordinary 32-year career.Dr Angela Collins, nee O’Mahony, has successfully recovered from colon cancer in 2009 and from three blocked arteries to start chronicling her life and times scaling the heights of numerous buildings. They include cathedrals in Ennis, Limerick and Ringsend, Dublin.The 70-year-old, who has already written about 500 pages of material, hopes to finish the arduous task of condensing all her great tales and experiences into a book by the end of this year. Securing a publisher will be the next job once she is satisfied she has done justice to what she believes is a classic “rags to riches” story.Born in Kilkishen, Angela made history in 1960 by becoming the first female steeplejack in the country at the age of 16. She started scaling buildings as a secretary to deliver materials and messages and continued until her retirement in …

Large tracts of land in the area could be subjected to a “planning freeze” for at least 10 months due to the constraints imposed by the proposed Northern Distributor Road, local county councillors have claimed. Councillor Michael Begley stated consultants preparing documentation for Phase Two of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road will not release any more land from the so-called “frozen corridor” until the preferred route is confirmed.This “frozen corridor”, in planning terms, includes a large slice of the Meelick and Clonlara parishes and covers large tracts of land between the Head Race Canal and the River Shannon.While Councillors Michael Begley and Pascal Fitzgerald are urging affected parties in South-East Clare to attend the public consultation meeting in the Radisson Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick, on Wednesday from 3pm-8pm, they are extremely concerned about the impact of the sterilsation of large portions of land.During a brief session with county councillors last Friday, Councillor Begley was told by a consultant that Clare …