West Clare

THE Kilrush Town Council Mayoral Endeavour Awards and the annual Cissie Roughan awards were presented in the town last Tuesday. Kilrush Town Council said, in a statement, they recognise the concept of rewarding excellence and with this in mind they introduced a Special Mayoral Award in Kilrush for 2010. “It was felt there was a wealth of talent in Kilrush, across a broad spectrum of activities and Kilrush Town Council would like to reward such excellence and to encourage people to continue to challenge their minds,” a council statement explained. The mayoral awards were presented under the following categories: innovation, academic, sporting/cultural and community/voluntary. The award winners were as follows:InnovationVincent O’Halloran, Chapel Drive, Kilrush, who was a founder member of the Inis Cathaigh Comhaltas Ceoltóirí festival in Kilrush in 2008 when the Éigse Mrs Crotty festival was discontinued.AcademicMichael Shannon of Cappa Cove, Kilrush, who received the overall award at the Scifest competition at Limerick Institute of Technology in October 2009. …

CLARE County Council has awarded a €1 million contract to L&M Keating Ltd, Kilmihil, to carry out a refurbishment and extension to the Sweeney Memorial Library in Kilkee.The proposed scheme comprises additional library space, theatre and exhibition space and multifunctional spaces. Construction work on the proposed development is expected to get underway in the coming weeks and will be completed by the end of 2011. During the development period, the library will be temporarily relocated to the Kilkee Community Centre. The existing building is approximately 4,465ft2 and the revised layout will provide approximately 7,340ft2, at ground and first-floor level The theatre and foyer have been designed to accommodate approximately 130 people.The brief for the project has been developed in conjunction and consultation with many groups, including Clare County Library, Clare Arts Office, Clare County Council, Kilkee Town Councillors, area councillors, Kilkee Civic Trust, and drama and community group representatives from the Kilkee area. The project is being funded through a …

KILKEE-based community radio station Raidió Corca Baiscinn is ending 2010 with a flourish as it broadcasts new documentaries on surfing and the Kilkee Strand Races this month.

A PLEA from Kilkee Town Councillor Elaine Haugh Hayes, that “obscene” bring banks be moved from the East End car park in Kilkee has been resoundingly turned down by Betty Devanny, Clare County Council.

IN an effort to boost town-centre business in Kilrush during the build-up to Christmas, shoppers will be allowed to park free for two hours for the next three Saturdays and on Monday, December 20 and Christmas Eve.While visitors to Kilrush can park for free in Place de Plouzane, they have to pay to park in all of the town’s main shopping streets. Parking, however, is free of charge at both the Tesco and Aldi supermarkets on the Ennis Road, which is well outside Kilrush town centre. “Kilrush Town Council together with Kilrush Chamber of Commerce have identified that an even greater effort needs to be made this year to support local businesses in the town and encourage a greater number of people to shop local,” the town council said in a statement this week. “With this in mind, as a gesture of goodwill to the business people and to their customers, the members of Kilrush Town Council recently adopted a …

TO mark UN International Day of People with Disabilities on Friday, Kilkee-based Raidió Corca Baiscinn will broadcast three hours of specific programming from 11am to 2pm. Enable Ireland volunteers and staff will broadcast an hour of craic and ceol from 11am to 12noon. Then the community radio station will go live in Kilkee and join Antonio Cebas and the crew from the Kilrush Brothers of Charity. At 1pm, the station will broadcast live from the Brothers of Charity Centre, Kilrush. This will include a panel discussion with representatives contributing from various disability and advocacy groups in the county. The panel, chaired by Mary Farren, will highlight and discuss the issues and concerns of those groups and focus on the extent to which society lives up to the theme of International Day of People with Disabilities, Contact Sallyann Marron at Raidió Corca Baiscinn at info@raidiocorcabaiscinn.ie or on 908 3022 for additional information.

KILRUSH will host several events to mark 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women from this Thursday until Friday, December 10.Kilrush Community Centre will host the opening event on Thursday from 6pm to 7pm. This will include a candle-lit vigil and the unveiling of a Magdalene Laundries memorial plaque, the launch of the Breaking the Silence DVD and an outside broadcast by Raidió Corca Baiscinn.At Kilrush parish masses on Saturday evening and Sunday, families and victims of abuse will be remembered, while a decoupage workshop will be held in Vandeleur Street from 10am to 12 noon on Monday.Next Tuesday, Kilrush Family Resource Centre will host a car maintenance and electrics workshop from 2pm to 4pm, while a coffee morning will be held in John Paul Estate Community Centre next Wednesday from 11am to 1pm.Several additional events will be held the following week from Thursday, December 2, including the launch of the In Her Shoes exhibition in Vandeleur Street on …

Kilkee-based Fianna Fáil county councillor Pat Keane has highlighted what he feels is a serious shortage of council housing in West Clare.He raised the issue at Monday’s meeting of the six West Clare county councillors, which was held in the county council offices in Ennis.“Due to the large number of families on the housing list, I am asking this council to examine the possibility of leasing unsold houses on a long-term basis to families in dire need,” Councillor Keane proposed.He estimated that there are up to 1,200 vacant houses in Kilkee at present. This figure includes holiday homes.“I think that we, in West Clare, have a major problem in relation to people on the housing waiting list,” Councillor Keane claimed. “Can we do something in relation to sourcing houses? We should find out what’s available first.”The meeting heard there is a shortage of council housing in Kilkee, Quilty and Kilmihil.“The amount of people looking for houses now is unbelievable,” Councillor …