Tag Archives: Clare Council Council

A PLAQUE has been erected at the bandstand in the Town Park, in memory of the late Mike McKee. Mr McKee was a member of the Shannon Town Council for many years, while in 2014 he was the first Sinn Féin representative elected to Clare Council Council since the 1970s. While he retained his seat in 2019, he was seriously ill by the time of the election and died that November. Donna McGettigan was co-opted onto the Council in his place, and she said the plaque honouring Mike is a very suitable gesture. “It was proposed by PJ Ryan, just before I came onto the Council, he proposed naming the bandstand after Mike, which was very appropriate considering Mike was involved with music. “Mike worked hard with his Council colleagues to get that park going, so it’s very fitting.” Due to Covid restrictions only a small number of people attending the unveiling of the plaque, but she said it went …

A NEW series of free online art tours specifically available to people of older age in Clare has been launched by Clare Arts Office. The series, ‘Visual Voices’ has come about thanks to funding from the Creative Ireland Programme. Visual Voices links a number of projects and programmes by Clare County Council in the area of arts and health to deliver an in-depth programme of online visual arts experiences to older people who may have difficulty accessing galleries and exhibition spaces in Clare. The series is based on Age and Opportunity’s ‘Azure’ programme, which was developed in collaboration with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, and inspired by the highly successful art tours ‘Meet me at MoMA’ running for many years for those living with dementia and their carers’, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The Arts Office of Clare County Council has over two decades of experience in running arts in health programmes in residential and …

Council finances holding steady despite impact of Covid-19 on its income streams THE total arrears in commercial rates owed to Clare County Council increased by almost €1.6 million to under €11.6 million last December, a new report has revealed. The total amount of uncollected rates on December 31, 2020 was €11.577 million, according to a report on the council’s unaudited annual financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2020. The report, which will be presented to councillors at the May local authority, stated the opening arrears on January 1, 2020 was €10,043,132 and the rates’ bill issued for 2020 was €44,715,390. Official figures showed the amounts collected, vacant or written off came to €29,605,485, while the Covid-19 commercial rates waiver was €13,674,497. Arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of restrictions on businesses, the Council implemented a range of business supports for customers. These supports included €39.06 million in the restart grant, restart grant plus, Local Enterprise Office …

THE newly formed Tourism Department of Clare County Council has launched, Experience Clare, a 2020 scenic calendar.  The calendar is specifically targeted at overseas markets and trade shows.  It is a business-to-business tourism promotional tool that will help drive business into Clare. It should be noted that the calendar is not intended for distribution to the general public, since it is targeted at overseas markets and domestic trade shows. Most copies are being sent abroad to drum up tourism business for Clare. Deirdre O’Shea, newly appointed Head of Tourism explained: “We can all be very proud of our county as presented in this calendar. It promotes Clare on a worldwide stage and the calendars are being distributed through Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland, tour operators and Holiday World Trades shows in both Dublin and Limerick”. Joan Tarmey, Tourism Officer with Clare County Council advised that “it is wonderful to see that good use is being made of images and video footage of the Banner …