The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
COUNCILLOR Michael Begley is the new Cathaoirleach of the Shannon Municipal District, having been elected unopposed at Tuesday afternoon’s AGM.
Sinn Féin’s Donna McGettigan was elected as Leas Cathaoirleach, also unopposed.
After taking the Chair, Councillor Begley said that he hopes the Clonlara flood relief scheme will conclude in October or November, while he said he was looking forward to Town & Village renewal schemes being progressed in Drumgeely and Clonlara.
He said that the Shannon Flood Defence scheme should not “be let fall through the cracks”, while he said the upgrade of the N19 is also important, particularly as the need for Shannon Airport to be used more extensively grows apparent.
Councillor Begley said that while he wouldn’t be wishing misfortune on Dublin Airport, that people in Clare “won’t shed any tears if there are further problems”.
He said he was glad to see the Shannon Masterplan being progressed, and that hopefully the One Shannon Hub will go through the design phase shortly.
The independent councillor criticised the cancelling of further works on the Northern Distributor Road, and said there is a need to be able to access UL from the north and west.
Completing his year as Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Crowe said it had been quite a busy year, with a number of projects progressed.
He said that with an eye on developing new facilities in Shannon town, councillors had gone to see facilities in Dublin, Belfast and London, which he said was “a very fruitful experience”.
The Fine Gael councillor joked that there are a lot of good cyclists on the Council, who will all be using the extended cycleway which is due to run from Newmarket to Clarecastle.
He also said that some 60,000 bulbs were distributed to 11 communities around the Municipal District and the results are seen with flowers blooming throughout the area.
Another highlight he identified was the start of work on the flood relief scheme in Clonlara, while he said the footpath project in Sixmilebridge has been very positive.
Councillor Crowe said he was very pleased that a plaque had been unveiled to the memory of the late Councillor Mike McKee.
“It was great to do something in his honour,” he said.
He praised the development of a Town Plan for Sixmilebridge saying, “The Bridge has gone so far, but it needs something like this to drive it the rest of the way.”
Councillor Crowe also lauded the progress on the Shannon Town Masterplan and the fact that the Women’s Irish Open is coming to the Municipal District.
“It was an absolute pleasure and honour to chair this Municipal District and I wish the incoming chair the best of luck,” he concluded.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
