South Clare

FLUCTUATIONS in water levels in Lough Derg could have a significant impact on the spawning of coarse fish population, if Dublin City Council proceeds with its plan to abstract over 350 million litres of water on a daily basis from the lake, angling groups have warned.

THE number of dropped and blocked calls along the Ennis to Limerick dual carriageway near Cratloe will increase if ESB is forced to remove a communications structure.

WITH just one year to go until the London 2012 Paralympic Games get underway, two South-East Clare natives are stepping up preparations in their bid to secure a place on the Irish team.

UNEMPLOYED painters, carpenters, computer specialists, web designers, agricultural workers and tradesmen from the Meelick area have expressed a strong interest in participating in a new Government work scheme.

AN estimated €6 million has been spent by Government agencies on the provision of tourism-related developments at Lough Derg, it emerged this week.This expenditure represents 40% of the €15m in developments that have been identified for the area by the Lough Derg Working Group.The group, comprising Shannon Development, Failte Ireland and Waterways Ireland, is working in close co-operation with the relevant local authorities on a strategic plan to enhance visitor facilities in the Lakelands and Inland Waterways Region. The proposed developments include improvements to harbours, marina developments and on-shore visitor facilities, such as walking and cycling trails.Some of the projects completed include the recently opened €2m Killaloe Canal Project completed by Waterways Ireland, harbour improvements at Terryglass, Dromineer, Garrykennedy and Ballina and loop walks linked to the Lough Derg Way and East Clare Way, including a new loop walk at Ballycuggeran.Commenting on the infrastructure developments at Lough Derg, Shannon Development tourism product development manager, Flan Quilligan, said the overall strategy …

CATHOLICS in the Killaloe Diocese have great respect and love for hard-working priests in their parishes, despite the pain and anguish caused by child clerical abuse.That’s according to Rev Gerard Jones, who will become the youngest priest in the Killaloe Diocese next Sunday, when Bishop Kieran O’Reilly ordains him at 3pm.He will celebrate his first Mass of Thanksgiving in St Thomas’ Church, Bridgetown, on Monday evening at 7pm.Rev Jones said he was shocked and felt let down by the actions, and inaction in some instances, of senior clerics when dealing with allegations of child clerical sexual abuse.Having served as a deacon in a number of parishes over the last 18 months, the 28-year-old cleric noted, however, that he was never subjected to negative personal comments as a result of the recent reports highlighting the appalling failure to adequately deal with child abuse in some dioceses.“Procedures concerning child abuse were not properly followed in one diocese. However, this is not a …

Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes, is spearheading a new drive to develop tourism initiatives in the Lough Derg region in a bid to substantially increase business for local accommodation providers.Councillor Hayes has revealed he has already started to arrange a series of meetings with the major tourism agencies including Waterways Ireland, Shannon Development and Fáilte Ireland to develop major new tourist attractions in East Clare.Having recently opened the doors of Loop Head Lighthouse for the first time in 341 years, Councillor Hayes is anxious to kickstart a similar tourism venture with the help of all the relevant tourism providers without having to incur major sums of money.The Maghera councillor has proposed that all the various voluntary bodies such as East Clare Tourism and statutory agencies need to work together to improve the marketing of the Lough Derg region.He cited walking festivals as just one initiative, which had the potential to attract hundreds of extra visitors to the lake district …

The University of Limerick’s reputation as Ireland’s leading sporting amenity has been furthered with the development of a state-of-the-art, all-weather sports facility on the Clare side of the college campus.The new €9 million facility is the largest all-weather sports field complex in Europe. This multi-purpose, fully floodlit synthetic grass park contains third-generation pitches including two soccer, one rugby and two GAA pitches. Third-generation all-weather surfaces play like natural grass and are designed for full contact. Each full-size pitch can be sub-divided to create smaller-sized playing areas for various sports. This is the largest artificial grass development in Ireland to date, designed to IRB, GAA and FIFA specifications.David Mahedy, director of sport and recreation, welcomed the development, saying, “This is a real life ‘Field of Dreams’ come true that is a top-quality unique facility for every player in every code to experience and enjoy. Training and especially matches can now be accommodated in all weathers and at all times on the …