Tag Archives: County Clare

The prestigious IPB Pride of Place Awards will be hosted in Clare once again. Co-operation Ireland and IPB Insurance, who run the annual competition in conjunction with local authorities north and south of the border, have informed Clare County Council of their decision to award the hosting of the 2015 event in the Banner County. It is the first time in the 12-year history of the all-island competition that the same county has hosted the ceremony two years running. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, John Crowe said the local authority “looks forward to welcoming communities from all over the island of Ireland to the county later this year.” “Clare County Council was delighted to have played a key role in organising a hugely successful event for Cooperation Ireland in November. As cathaoirleach, it was fantastic to hear back so many positive comments from those in attendance about the event and our County,” he added. Chief executive of Clare County Council, Tom Coughlan …

HISTORIAN and archaeologist Stephen Daly is working on an extremely ambitious book tracing the development of Ireland and he visited the Banner County last week as part of his project. Between 2001 and 2008, he completed a degree in history, a postgraduate qualification in archaeology and worked on some major civil engineering projects in the West and Mid-West. In 2009, he began working on this book and it has taken up nearly all his energy since. “I’ve been at it full-time for the last five years. I never intended for it to be so long but I decided to devote the time that it demanded. I said I’d do it right if I was going doing it at all.” Explaining what the book will cover, he says, “It’s called The Evolution of Ireland and it’s basically telling the complete story of Ireland, so it’s going back to the earliest human settlers of the island and even before that. It’ll go …

County Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way have prominent mentions in the latest Lonely Planet Guide, which has named Ireland as one of the top five countries in the world to visit next year. “It is very important for Irish tourism to receive such an endorsement when one considers the growing competition from developing tourism destinations,”stated Donnagh Gregson, chair of the Clare Tourism Forum. “The inclusion of Ireland alongside Singapore, Namibia, Lithuania and Nicaragua in the Top 10 list is evidence of the outstanding performance of the domestic tourism sector in recent years in spite of the general downturn in the global economy. Ireland is obviously succeeding in marketing itself to newer markets, such as India and China and at the same time remaining an attractive destination for our traditional tourist markets,” she said. Continuing, Ms Gregson said, “It is particularly satisfying to see that Clare has been singled out by the guide for its hospitality, which is something that …

The current state of the construction industry in County Clare is highlighted in the results of a new survey. One hundred and twenty-two new residential buildings were recorded in Clare in the first six months of this year, according GeoDirectory. For the year ending June 30, 2014, there were 601 transactions in Clare and the average property price was €123,088. The new buildings in Clare are composed of 122 residential buildings, 93 commercial buildings and 7 dual-purpose buildings, with both residential and commercial elements. These new additions bring the total number of buildings in Clare to 57,805. The GeoDirectory database distinguishes between a ‘dwelling’ ,which is a single residential unit, as opposed to a ‘building’, which can comprise one or more dwellings. Clare had a residential density of 18.0 dwellings per km². Dublin had the highest residential density per square kilometre (573 dwellings per km²). Leitrim (12.4) had the lowest residential density, followed by the Western counties of Mayo (12.6) …

Millions of people around the world will be reading and hearing all about Clare’s Wild Atlantic Way over the coming weeks and months,  following this week’s visit by journalists from 13 different countries. Invited here by Tourism Ireland, the group is made up of influential journalists from media outlets in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, China, South Africa, India and Brazil. They are here to experience some of the many things to see and do along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and to then write or broadcast about it on their return home, to inspire prospective travellers to come and experience this part of Ireland for themselves. Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said,”Fact-finding visits like this are an important element of Tourism Ireland’s overall promotional effort; they are a really effective way for us to get positive exposure for Clare and Ireland through the media around the world. The publicity value of the …

Councillor John Crowe of Sixmilebridge was elected Mayor of Clare at the county council AGM held on this Friday afternoon. Councillor Crowe was nominated by poll topper Joe Cooney and seconded by Independent Gerry Flynn. The Fine Gael councillor is the county’s outgoing deputy mayor. Councillor Crowe will  be the only Fine Gael member to hold the position of mayor over the five-year term of the new authority. Two Fianna Fáil  members will have the honour of holding office, while the “technical group”, consisting of the seven Independents and one Sinn Féin, will also have two terms of office. Fianna Fáil’s Councillor Tony O’ Brien of the Killaloe Electoral area was elected deputy mayor for the coming year. Councillor O’Brien was re-elected to the council last month having lost his seat in the 2009 local election. Mayor Crowe paid tribute to the councillors who lost their seats and who retired. He said he was “delighted to be part of a power-sharing agreement …

CLARE County Council and Ennis Town Council in conjunction with a road resurfacing contractor will be carrying out essential road resurfacing and repair works at a number of locations around Ennis Town on this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and again between Tuesday, April 22 and Friday, April 25. Works take place at Mill Road Bridge Pedestrian Crossing on Tuesday April 15; the junction of Cloughleigh Road / Lahinch Road on Wednesday April 16; the junction of Rossanore Housing Estate and Marian Avenue on Thursday April 17; at Lower Abbey Street between Club Bridge and Abbey Street Car Park on Tuesday April 22 and Wednesday, April 23; Upper O’Connell Street between Barrack Street and Carmody Street on Thursday April 24; and the junction of Ballymacahill Road and Tulla Road on Friday April 25. Works will take place between 8am and 6pm. Traffic management control measures will be in place and will include lane closures and the use of temporary traffic lights …

FÁILTE  Ireland wants all Clare communities to row in behind the 2014 Wild Atlantic Way tourism initiative.  The tourism authority will be holding a series of community meetings along the west coast with one taking place in the Armada Hotel, Spanish Point on Wednesday night next. Encouraging communities to get involved, Fiona Monaghan from Fáilte Ireland said ,“Over the coming weeks we will be holding a series of community briefings so that you can learn more about the Wild Atlantic Way, share ideas and work together. These events are all about making sure your local area gets the most out of this  initiative.” The Wild Atlantic Way is a long distance touring route from Donegal to West Cork with a total length of 2,500km showcasing the Atlantic coastline. The objective is to link the destinations and attractions along the route together, with the ultimate aim of creating a variety of experiences and attracting more international visitors to the West Coast. …