Car Tourismo Banner
Home » Tag Archives: clare champion (page 44)

Tag Archives: clare champion

Air pollution in Ennis at weekend worse than in Beijing

AIR pollution levels in Ennis were higher than in Beijing at the weekend with the EPA’s air quality monitoring station showing a significant spike in pollutants, despite a smoky coal ban being in place in the county capital since 2011. Fears this “very harmful” pollution will result in “significant adverse health impacts” has sparked renewed calls from a former Mayor of Ennis for the establishment of an Ennis Clean Air Strategy. On Sunday evening at 7pm the EPA recorded a sharp rise in the levels of particulate matter associated with the burning of solid fuels, almost ten times higher than the EPA’s daily limit. Particulate matter (PM) are minute particles of dust, soot and smoke and the daily limit for PM10 is 50 ug/m3. PM10 of 485.38ug/m3 and PM2.5 of 467.58ug/m3 was recorded in Ennis on Sunday along with sulphar dioxide measuring 67.22ug/m3. On the same day, China’s capital city experienced moderate to good levels of air pollution. Councillor Johnny Flynn …

Read More »

A ‘lotto’ luck for four Clare players in must-win draw

THE €19 million Lotto jackpot may not have been won in Clare at the weekend, but four Banner players still managed to scoop a prize. Four Match 5+Bonus tickets winning more than €36,000 were bought in Clare for the must-win draw last weekend. The winning tickets were sold at the Eurospar, Ennis Road, Newmarket-on-Fergus; Reddan’s Store and Post Office, Sixmilebridge; Taltys Mace/Topaz, Lissycasey and another was sold online at lottery.ie. The Clare wins were among 149 players from all over Ireland to share in a prize fund of almost €5.5 million at the Match 5+Bonus prize tier. As the Lotto jackpot was capped at €19.06 million, the funds that would usually go to the jackpot flowed down to the next highest tier at which there was a winner and in the historic draw, this was the Match 5 + Bonus prize tier. The National Lottery has urged players to check their tickets carefully and for the winners to sign the …

Read More »

Contrasting views expressed on Ennis pedestrianisation

THE chair of an Ennis retailers group has warned against “blanket pedestrianisation” of the county capital’s town centre saying it would lead to “commercial apartheid”. John O’Connor of Retailers of Ennis was reacting to the release of a survey by Clare County Council this week which showed more than 70% of respondents would like to see some form of pedestrianisation in Ennis ‘immediately’. (See Clare Champion story here) He believes compromise is needed if there are any future plans to make Ennis’ streets car-free. He insists it would need to be carefully planned out, with the needs of business owners and those who need to access those businesses taken into consideration along with increasing parking. Mr O’Connor fears that full pedestrianisation of the town centre would drive people out to the peripheries resulting in a “business desert” in the town. “We have always maintained if you continue with blanket pedestrianisation you reach a situation where you have, in essence, commercial …

Read More »

Gardaí renew appeal for information following fatal Clare crash

GARDAÍ have renewed their appeal for information after a road traffic collision claimed the life of a young man in Clare last week. Declan Ward, who was in his late twenties, died in the two-vehicle incident that happened at around 5.45am last Wednesday morning on the main R352, around halfway between Bodyke and Tulla, in the townland of Ballinahinch. Gardaí, National Ambulance Service paramedics and units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Scariff station responded to the incident. On arrival they found that the driver and sole occupant of one car had been fatally injured. The driver of the second vehicle was also injured and taken by to hospital by ambulance for treatment. He was also travelling alone and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has urged anybody who may have been travelling in the area at the time to contact gardaí. “Just before 5.45am on Wednesday morning last January …

Read More »

Organiser of Ashling vigil ‘overwhelmed’ with public response

THE organiser of last Saturday’s walk and run in Ennis to honour of the memory of murdered teacher Ashling Murphy has said he was “overwhelmed” with the response. Around 1,000 people gathered at the Fair Green to walk and run at 4pm in memory of Ashling, culminating in a poignant candle lit vigil with music and minute’s silence. Supported by The Clare Champion, the event was initiated by John Condon, who hopes the tragedy of Ashling’s killing will not be in vain by resulting in more being done to address violence against women. “Will this be the tipping point where we say enough is enough? There have been some brutal killings, some right here in Clare, and at some stage there has to be a tipping point, hopefully this might be it. However, addressing this is a monumental task, it’s education at home, education at school, educating of young men on how to respect women, it has to do with …

Read More »

Council urged to weed out roundabout problem

EFFORTS being made by a group of volunteers to maintain the Ballymaley roundabout are in the weeds, with the local authority been urged to step in and help. Mayor of Ennis Councillor Ann Norton urged at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District that the council look after the maintenance and grass cutting at the roundabout following representations from a number of people. Tommy Scott, Senior Executive Technician, responded, “The top of the roundabout is maintained as a Biodiversity meadow. The crop will now be cut and removed. Grass cutting has finished for the season and will recommence in April. “The grass cutting on the Ballymaley roundabout is carried out in a similar manner to the roundabouts on the N85 where the grass is permitted to grow and become a wild flower meadow in line with good biodiversity practices. This is part of the Tidy Town’s biodiversity programme.” Councillor Norton thanked Mr Scott for the response, stating that she appreciates …

Read More »

Residents fear ‘vermin’ nesting in biodiversity habitat

RESIDENTS living in an Ennis housing estate fear “vermin” are nesting in a river bank which has been left as a habitat for biodiversity. Calls for vegetation, trees and bushes along the riverbank at Lenabeg to be cut back were made on behalf of the residents by Councillor Mary Howard at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. “It is currently badly overgrown and the residents fear vermin are nesting there plus this area is being used to dump rubbish,” she said. Responding to the motion, Tommy Scott, Senior Executive Technician, stated, “The riverbank is left to look after itself and provide a natural boundary to the river edge. It provides a habitat for all sorts of biodiversity and wildlife and is fenced off from the development. “A river walk was built along this area as part of the development. It forms a fitting natural finish along the interface between the development and the River Fergus.” He continued, “This area …

Read More »

Ennis bus service ‘a priority’ for National Transport Authority

THE provision of an Ennis town bus service “is a priority” for the National Transport Authority (NTA), with route selection currently being finalised. An update on the progress of plans on the long awaited bus service for the county capital were outlined at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Deputy Mayor of Ennis Councillor Paul Murphy had sought the details, saying, “we need to have a local bus service for Ennis”. Leonore O’Neill, Senior Executive Officer, responded, “The Ennis Municipal District are in ongoing communication with the NTA Public Transport Service Planning Team who are responsible for the planning and design of the Town Bus Service in Ennis. The NTA are currently finalising route selection. Implementation is dependent on budgets being available to support the operational cost of providing the service.” Director of service Carmel Kirby told the meeting that discussions with the NTA are “at an advanced stage” with routes being finalised throughout the town. “The Ennis …

Read More »