West Clare

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 …

KILRUSH Town Councillor Tom Prendeville has warned that the future of the town council may be at stake if members “fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in”.

IF there is sufficient interest among Kilrush people to grow organic food, Kilrush Town Council would consider allocating a number of plots to them, councillors heard recently.

Retired Kilrush UN peacekeeper, Colonel Michael Shannon was appointed president of the University of Limerick-based Irish Peace Institute last Thursday in succession to Tom O’Donnell. The appointment was made by the international board of the institute.

If Kilrush town councillor Paul Moroney’s plans come to fruition, the town square and Place de Plouzane will have close-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in place by next summer.

IF draft Casual Trading Bylaws are adopted in Kilrush, street traders, with some exceptions, would have to hold a casual trading licence for a specified event. This would include people who sell Christmas trees in Kilrush town square. They would have to pay a daily fee of €12.70 for their casual trading licence.

MONDAY’S meeting of Kilkee Town Council heard that Clare County Council has a winter maintenance programme plan in place to deal with a possible repeat of last winter’s severe weather, which made travel impossible in some parts of West Clare.