From the Halfway to Clarecastle where the streets have no name

IT is a case of a ‘road by any other name’ in Ennis as more than 20 years after official maps wrongly renamed the Clare Road as the Limerick Road, Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) have now changed their maps.

However, controversy still surrounds the road name as long-time campaigner for the recognition of the Clare Road, Alan Cronin, says the OSi’s update has not gone far enough.
OSi confirmed to The Clare Champion that the name of the road from the Turnpike to Halfway House previously shown on its large scale and street maps of Ennis as Limerick Road, has been updated to the name Clare Road.
This follows years of lobbying and research by Mr Cronin to give the Clare Road its correct title, fearing the area was “losing its identity”. But while the map has been changed, Mr Cronin has insisted the Clare Road should extend all the way to Clarecastle and not finish at the Halfway House.
A spokesperson for OSi said, “The road from Turnpike to the Halfway House has always been the Clare Road. However, the absence of an official name between The Halfway House and Clarecastle led to an erroneous introduction of the previously shown name onto its maps. As part of its quality assurance procedures, OSi, following a request from a concerned member of the public, conducted a review of the data for this area. This review has now been completed and in particular we would extend our appreciation to Mr Alan Cronin for his diligence in this matter. As part of its quality assurance procedures, OSi welcomes information from members of the public on any possible errors or omissions on its mapping products.”
However, Mr Cronin has insisted historical research shows the Clare Road goes all the way to Clarecastle and he criticised the OSi for not continuing the road name as far as the village. Mr Cronin has spent the last number of years looking for recognition of the Clare Road saying the name has been “decimated” over the years.
“The Limerick Road is the link road from the Four Winds to St Patrick’s Terrace. The Clare  Road is so called because it was the road from Ennis to Clare Village, which is now called Clarecastle. I was born on the road, my mother was born on the road and my grandparents lived on the road going back 120 years. I’m the last one and I don’t want to see the name gone.
“A lot of people have bought houses in estates around here over the years and they’ve been told they lived on the Limerick Road and they’ve been using that name. They wouldn’t know any better and you can’t blame them. In the last 15 or 20 years, it’s gone out of hand with everybody, developers, architects, solicitors, all using the name Limerick Road when it is actually the Clare Road.
“This has been going on for years and all I want is for the Clare Road to retain its identity. When I was a child, every time Dev came to town, there would be a bonfire here and he would stop his car on the road and march into Ennis. That is part of the Clare Road’s history and it shouldn’t be forgotten.”
He added there could also be implications for people looking for planning permission if they used an incorrect road name on the application.
According to the OSi spokesperson, there is no official name for the road between the Halfway and Clarecastle and they are not authorised to originate a road name. 
“OSi are not authorised to originate a road name or any other placename, this is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. We reflect what has already been decided following consultation based on survey or our own research. In the case of this particular stretch of road, we have no evidence to indicate to us that the name Clare Road extends to Clarecastle,” said the spokesperson.