West Clare

THE Clare Youth Service-run Kilrush hip-hop group will compete in the Youth Work Ireland variety show Clare heats of The Youth Factor on Saturday. Kilfenora Youth Club is hosting this year’s event.Participants from youth clubs and projects affiliated to the Clare Youth Service from all over Clare will take part in the event under the categories of dance, song, music and performance, with the winning acts from each event going through to represent the county at the national finals to be held later in the year.The Kilrush group has represented Clare for three years-in a-row at the national event, coming in third place in 2009 and runners-up the past two years. The group is hoping to reach the finals again this year.The young group comprises six girls, aged between 14 and 18, all hailing from the John Paul Estate, Kilrush and the wider West Clare community. The core members of the group have been dancing together for five years under …

THERE is little prospect of any progress on three long-awaited West Clare sewerage schemes. That was the message given to local councillors at the January Kilrush Electoral Area meeting, which was held last week. Councillor Pat Keane sought an update on schemes for Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Labasheeda but, in a written reply, engineer Cyril Feeney didn’t hold out much hope of any imminent improvement.“The area councillors will be aware that much work was done on these three schemes within the 2006-09 Water Services Investment Programme (WSIP). At the time the 2006-09 WSIP ended, Cooraclare was almost ready to go to tender, Carrigaholt was at an advanced stage of planning and Labasheeda had a large amount of planning work done.“However under the new priorities of the 2010-12 WSIP, none of the three was approved for inclusion in the new programme. Clare County Council recommended the Carrigaholt scheme to the DECLG in the 2011 annual review of the WSIP, based on a …

MAINTAINING levels of funding for coastal works is important despite financial constraints, it was claimed at the January meeting of Kilrush Area councillors.Kilkee councillor Pat Keane put forward a motion asking for an outline of what coastal works are required to protect roads in the Kilrush Electoral Area.In a written response, engineer Cyril Feeney stated, “Clare County Council make an annual submission to the Office of Public Works under the Coastal Minor Flood and Erosion Mitigation Programme. The OPW provide funding to address localised coastal-related flood and erosion risk problems. “The works to be funded would be carried out under local authority powers and ongoing maintenance of the completed works will be the responsibility of the county council.“In recent years, works have been carried out in Kilbaha, Ross Bay, Effernan, Ballycorick and a project is currently at the design stage for Cloghauninchy, Quilty. The schemes vary in their designs and are dependant on the coastal environment that they are situated …

  AN innovative all-terrain wheelchair will now be available free to the general public at Spanish Point beach. The Hippocampe got its first taste of saltwater this week when Maureen O’Leary of Shyan, Kilmihil gave it a trial run, accompanied by Mister Miltown, Martin Quinn and a number of people from the locality.The specialised wheelchair, which will make a visit to the beach a far more enjoyable experience for the elderly or people with disabilities, was purchased from the proceeds of the Mister Miltown competition held in December. It has cost €2,000, which includes the provision of signage.Also known as the Mobi Chair, the wheelchair has been donated to the Brothers of Charity and it will be stored year-round in The Armada Hotel. “They are the correct people for the job as Pat Lillis and his crew brought the first wheelchair of its type in Ireland to Kilkee,” said Marie Killeen, a member of the Mister Miltown organising committee. “Through …

A Shop Front Assistance Fund, aimed at helping to further improve the appearance of Moore Street in Kilrush, is to be launched in the near future. The street re-opened before Christmas following extensive road maintenance work. Kilrush town manager Nora Kaye told last Thursday’s meeting of the town council that she had held a meeting with Shannon Development and agreement had been reached on the establishment of the fund, which could be used by successful applicants to help fit out a new or existing business. “A scheme will be drafted and the Chamber of Commerce will be invited to participate as well,” Ms Kaye explained. Councillor Marian McMahon Jones asked to see the proposal on paper and suggested the council talk with business people and vacant building owners in Moore Street. She also told the meeting that a Kilrush-based accountant has offered six months’ free advice to new businesses on the street. Councillor Liam O’Looney asked that the scheme be …

Kilrush town councillors have urged owners of buildings in the town to reduce their rent if business in the town is to improve. At last week’s monthly town council meeting, Mayor of Kilrush, Ian Lynch, said the town had changed significantly in recent times and that the council “needs to revive it”. Councillor Liam O’Looney said the town council needed to market the fact that Kilrush has 30 minutes of free parking daily and free parking in the town until 10.30am every day. However, Councillor Paul Moroney underlined the need for reduced rent in Kilrush. “The owners of the premises need to be realistic with rents. We need to get the word out there that if business is to be done in Kilrush, we’ll be right behind it,” he said. However, Councillor Marian ­McMahon Jones assured the meeting that ­local building owners and business people will drop their rental demands. On a similar theme, Kilrush town clerk John Corry revealed …

WHEN Charlie McGrath hit 60 at midnight on January 4, his increased age wasn’t the only thing weighing on his mind. The opening minutes of his sixth decade marked the end of Charlie’s time as a firefighter in Kilkee. He joined the service as a 19-year-old, 41 years ago in 1971, serving as an officer in the Kilkee station for 39 of those years. His longevity in the service outstrips every firefighter in the county.“In that time, I was fireman for two years, sub-officer for nine years and station officer for 30 years,” Charlie told The Clare Champion.During his 41-year stint, Charlie attended 2,000 call-outs in the Kilkee, Doonbeg and peninsula areas.“It varied from haybarns in my early days to bog fires, flooding, road traffic accidents and numerous types of fires,” he recalled.Loss of life was sometimes an unfortunate accompaniment to the call-outs. “That was the hard part of it. Being a small community and as a fuel merchant, going …

A KILRUSH toilet, described last September as “the most expensive piece of retail property in Ireland,” is to have the plug pulled on it by Kilrush Town Council.The council is to withdraw from its 20-year contract with Street Furniture Limited. The decision to withdraw from the contract will cost the council €53,000 plus VAT but will save up to €211,000. That is the total it would cost if the town were to remain bound to the contract. The council is tied into the public toilet contract until 2019.As a result of the 20-year contract the town council entered into in 1999, the rental of the toilet in the town square cost €201,301.51 between 2005 and 2010. During the same time period, the toilet realised just €9,940.49 from people paying to use it.Kilrush Town Councillor Paul Moroney described the town’s only public toilet as “the most expensive piece of retail property in Ireland,” at September’s town council meeting.The contentious toilet featured …