Tag Archives: clare

WITH Shannon company Avara in provisional liquidation, local county councillor Mike McKee has raised concerns about public safety, given the chemicals stored there and about the level of redundancy being offered to departing workers. On Wednesday, Councillor McKee said, “My understanding is that they are going to keep a skeleton staff there, due to the fact that there are materials in the plant. The materials in the plant are quite significant and could be construed as quite dangerous chemicals. One has to question are the company being responsible on this because of the seriousness of the raw products that are in situ in the plant. They would be left on their own with just a handful of people monitoring them. I do know for a fact that the chemicals are not the most stable.” He questioned if the people currently charged with running the company, as a buyer is sought, are aware of some of the incidents that have happened there …

FARMER and former TD Michael McNamara is supportive of the Beef Plan protests and is holding back his own cattle. “I have cattle that are fit to kill and I’m not moving them. I’m going to hold them until this strike is over, one way or another. Whether they are under 30 months or over 30 months, I’m going to hold them,” he said. He expects things could become even more tense at the front lines of the protest, as he predicts that the “big companies will do everything they can to break the strike”. Mr McNamara slammed the Competition Authority for not looking closely at what is happening in the beef industry. “The only investigation the Competition Authority in Ireland has carried out in relation to price fixing was that they raided the IFA offices. The Competition Authority in Ireland is a joke and I’m happy to be on the record to say they are a joke. They’re like …

Scenes from the Beef Plan protest outside the Kepak premises in Tiermaclane.   [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WqLcMdMFZk[/embedyt]

THERE were dramatic scenes at the Kepak plant in Drumquin this evening, as farmers from the Beef Plan movement in Clare delayed trucks from entering and leaving. Gardai were summoned to the site as emotions ran very high at certain times. When the Clare Champion arrived this afternoon a group of about 20 farmers were walking in circular formation at the front gate to the plant, preventing two trucks from leaving, while another truck was waiting to enter, just up the road. While the truck driver attempted to inch forward whenever gaps in the circle of protestors emerged, there was no way he could get out, until the farmers finally opted to relent and allow him to leave. However at this point there was an attempt to get the second truck past the protestors, something that inflamed the crowd, and they succeeded in stopping that truck from exiting. Shortly afterwards Gardai arrived on the scene, and they sought to speak …

  IT HAS been claimed that the establishment of a new Mid West regional health area will transform the delivery of healthcare in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary. That’s the view of Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey who said that the establishment of six new regional health areas will result in clear financial and performance accountability. “This is a key step in delivering Sláintecare and is another step towards a vital reform of our health service. It will empower frontline staff and devolve authority from the HSE to the local regions. “These proposals will help shape the future of healthcare in this country and will give the staff, and more importantly, communities a greater role in the delivery of health. “The reform will see the establishment of six new regional health areas and will radically change the way we deliver health care,” said Deputy Carey. The proposed six regional health areas are based on population data, including how people …

“GARDAÍ are keeping an open mind on the latest tragedy to hit the county- the death of a young woman whose body was found in a burned out mobile home in Tubber last Friday afternoon.” The Clare Champion, April 15, 2005. When your world comes crashing down, it’s often when your phone rings on a perfectly ordinary day. That’s how it happened for Johnny O’Loughlin 14 years ago. On a spring evening, Shane Bowe, the partner of his 23-year old daughter Emer, rang him in a state of distress, just as Johnny was clocking off. “I was driving a truck, I was drawing pre-cast flooring out of Whelan’s. I was finished and I was coming out of the quarry heading home. I got a phonecall from Shane, her boyfriend, they were lovers for years and years. He was a carpenter, he rang me and told me that Emer was missing, her camera was there, the keys of her car were …

FOURTEEN years after his daughter Emer’s life was taken, Johnny O’Loughlin believes the man wanted in connection with her death is at large in Morocco. However, he feels little is being done to investigate the possibility that John Griffin is living in the North African state. This week, Mr O’Loughlin, who is from Ennistymon but now lives in Inagh, spoke about how raw the emotion over the loss of his much-loved daughter still is. Emer was murdered in 2005 and her remains were found in the burned-out mobile home of John Griffin. Mr Griffin was admitted to a psychiatric facility in Ballinasloe following an incident a few days after Emer’s death. He would subsequently check himself out of the facility, apparently attempt to fake his own death on the Aran Islands and has been missing since. Mr O’Loughlin said he has received credible information from an Irishman, who came across Mr Griffin, while in Morocco. While he says the person …

Bakers in Clare rose to the occasion this April, as they raised a total of €2,642 at this year’s Great Irish bake for Temple Street. People from all over the county took to their kitchens for the cause. Temple Street was also delighted to welcome broadcaster and mum Karen Koster in the kitchen as Great Irish Bake Ambassador, who helped raise awareness and encourage people all over Ireland to put on their aprons and raise money for a great cause. Bake sales were held in homes, schools and businesses across the Ireland, with a total of €226,152 raised by Temple Street’s Great Irish Bakers nationwide. The money raised will help buy vital, lie-saving equipment for our wards, departments, theatres and ICU, which is going to directly benefit thousands of sick children.