Tag Archives: clare county council

IT IS A bright and chilly Friday morning in Tulla and there’s a buzz of activity about the place as locals stock up on the shopping and catch up on the news ahead of the weekend. “Ideally, we’d love to see this level of activity every day of the week,” says Councillor Pat Hayes who is taking The Clare Champion on a short walking tour of following the news that over 40 vacant premises have been identified in the area. While the heart of Tulla is beating strongly, as we make our way down Lower Main Street, the evidence of a report compiled by Clare County Council from Geo Directory statistics becomes more apparent. “We are coming to an area where there would have been busy pubs and shops, as well as a cinema,” Cllr Hayes explains. “But, you know life has changed and times have changed. Still it is hard to be looking at buildings lying idle and empty …

TRUMP International in Doonbeg has been granted planning permission from Clare County Council to build a ballroom and 53 holiday homes at the site in West Clare. The projected cost of the project is almost €40m. The resort will double in size as a result and will incorporate a new restaurant, along with a gate house. The construction of the ballroom and associated facilities will be a huge boost to the West Clare economy which was hit recently of news of 109 layoffs at ESB Moneypoint. The ball room will be 1,774 square metres in size and will be capable of catering for 300 guests.

  CLARE is bracing itself for the arrival of Storm Lorenzo on Thursday with Met Éireann issuing a status orange weather warning for the county. Winds up up to 130km/h, and even higher in coastal regions, are expected with storm surges producing coastal flooding and damage. The orange weather warning, for Clare, Galway, Limerick, Cork, Mayo and Kerry comes into effect from 6pm Thursday until Friday at 3am. There is also a status yellow rainfall alert for the entire country from 9am on Thursday until 6am on Friday. According to Met Éireann south-westerly winds veering westerly will reach mean speeds 65 to 80km/h with gusts generally of 100 to 130km/h, higher in coastal regions. Storm surges will produce coastal flooding and damage. The main impacts will include disruptive winds, falling trees and flooding. The public are advised not to plan any unnecessary journeys for the duration of the status Orange warning. Clare County Council is urging motorists to drive with caution …

ENNIS has been named as one of the five finalists vying to be named Ireland’s Friendliest Place. The county capital has passed through a rigorous auditing process with Ennis based retailers assessed by mystery shoppers testing service standards in the town. In 2017 Ennis secured the coveted title and hopes are high for a repeat win. Ennis is up against Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim, Cork City, Limerick City and Naas. Retail Excellence, the largest retail industry representative organization in Ireland, will announce the winner at a black-tie awards banquet on Saturday, November 9 in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney. The Friendliest Place competition is the central part of the Retail Excellence Annual Awards, which were established in 1997 to promote best practice and encourage the highest standards in the Irish retail industry. David Fitzsimons, Group Chief Executive of Retail Excellence commented “All five finalist places have beaten intense competition to make finalist status. County Councils have nominated local retail businesses who …

ENNIS has been crowned Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre at this year’s national Tidy Towns competition. The county capital scored an impressive 345 points in the competition, just one point behind the overall winners of Ireland’s Tidiest Town, Glaslough in County Monaghan. Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre is just one of a number of awards that have been scooped by the Ennis entry. Among the prestigious awards won by the local committee of volunteers were a gold medal, regional award and the county award. While the Supervalu Schools Award was presented to entries from Ennis National School and Ennis Scouts.

ELECTION counts often provide a few hours’ entertainment for the casual visitor, but they can be hellish for the candidates and those close to them. Last Sunday evening will surely never be forgotten by Gerry Flynn as he was announced as winner three times, but on two occasions recounts were sought, meaning a long and difficult evening for the Miltown native, who has made his home in Shannon and represented the town for many years. While he shook hands with Garret McPhillips after the initial recheck, there was no handshake between the two after the final outcome. Speaking this week, Councillor Flynn said that at that stage he was quite drained by the process. He was clearly irritated by the fact that Mr McPhillips had sought the recount after the recheck, despite the two having shaken hands. “If I shook your hand and congratulated you, I’d mean it. What’s wrong at all now, is there no substance in a handshake?” Councillor …

At its April monthly meeting on Monday (April 8) Clare County Council marked the 120th anniversary of the first ever meeting of the local authority, which took place in the Grand Jury Rooms of Ennis Courthouse on April 22, 1899. The ceremony featured presentations by Pat Dowling (Chief Executive) and Dr John Treacy of Clare County Council on the history of Clare County Council and the origins of the local authority. Mr Treacy is writing a book on the history of local government in Clare which is due for publication in May 2020. The ceremony also featured musical entertainment by piper Blackie O’Connell in memory of the famed Clare piper, Garret Barry. The piper died on the same week that the first elections to Clare County Council were held in April 1899. To mark the 120th anniversary of the first meeting of Clare County Council, the original minutes of the first meeting as well as an original copy of the …

CLARE County Council has opened a Book of Condolence in memory of Laura Brennan, RIP, in the public foyer of Áras Contae an Chláir, Ennis. The Mayor of Clare, Councillor Michael Begley, has invited members of the public to sign the book and join people from all over Ireland and beyond in marking Laura’s legacy as “an inspiring and courageous advocate and ambassador for the HPV Vaccination Programme.” “Many knew Laura for her advocacy work in favour of the HPV Vaccine after receiving a diagnosis of terminal cervical cancer.  To those who knew Laura personally however, it was her courage and her amazing positivity that defined her,” said Mayor Begley. He continued, “When Laura first approached the HSE in 2017, she made it clear that every parent in Ireland who was about to make the decision whether their daughter was to be vaccinated against HPV, would hear her story first.  Laura’s story was most certainly heard when she appeared on …