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Status Yellow weather warnings for Clare

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow wind and rain warning for Clare and a number of other counties as Storm Francis moves in over the country tonight. Weather warnings in place for strong winds and heavy rainfall from Monday evening into Tuesday. The public are advised to exercise caution on exposed areas including along the coast. As consequence of Storm Francis moving into the South West, Met Éireann are forecasting that weather will turn very wet and windy early this evening with some torrential downpours and possible flooding. This weather is forecasted to continue into Tuesday as Storm Francis crosses the country with further heavy falls of rain and the continued risk of flooding. Very windy or stormy conditions are expected on Tuesday and southwest winds veering westerly, reaching mean speeds of 55 to 65km/h, will bring widespread severe gusts of 90 to 110km/h. Some disruption is likely with possible structural damage.  

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Vandals strike at John O’Sullivan Park

A sledgehammer is believed to have been used in suspected vandalism at John O’Sullivan Park (Lee’s Road) and calls are now being made for the introduction of CCTV cameras in the popular park. Councillor Mary Howard told a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District that “over the past number of weeks there has been evidence of vandalism on the walking trails.” “Since May there has been evidence of young trees, saplings and branches being broken on a walkway locally called Bluebell Alley, there was also evidence of large rocks being both smashed and removed from the trail. This is creating a very dangerous ground surface for trips and falls. This destruction was not witnessed but it would appear to have been done after the park closed at night time as the trail is well used by walkers and runners throughout the day.” She said the damage to the rocks appears to have been caused by a sledgehammer, adding that the holes left …

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Condition of Scariff road ’embarrassing’

A COUNTY council senior executive engineer has warned residents at Poulagour, Scariff that he would “not be looking after the public’s expenditure” if the council carries out works on a local road. Hugh McGrath said if he carried out works, as requested, on the L8050 at Poulagour and after a few years the road “disimproved because people were being negligent” then he would “not be looking after the public’s expenditure”. He was responding to a motion by Councillor Joe Cooney, who called for works to be carried out on this road, “where the road surface is in very poor condition”. Mr McGrath advised that a section of this road was upgraded in the 2016 Restorative Maintenance Programme (surface dressing). “However, it is accepted that there remains a significantly damaged section of this road that needs to be addressed. Damage is being caused by roadside trees, water from lands and waste from cattle using the road.” He said that the council …

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Go ahead for Lahinch Pro protection works

Business and community leaders in Lahinch breathed a collective sigh of relief this week, following the green light for €2.85m of major coastal protection works for the promenade area of Lahinch seafront. The long wait for the start of this work, which will be fully funded through the OPW and will be undertaken under the auspices of Clare County Council, is now over. It includes the addition of extensive rock armour storm defence to the existing structure, a new concrete apron in front of the current seawall, refurbishment of existing steps and ramped access to the beach, along with development of a new universally accessible ramp at the north end of the promenade. In a recent council briefing document for councillors, the council acknowledged that the existing sea wall and boulder protection along the promenade have proven to be inadequate to prevent wave action overtopping the structure during extreme storm events. This has led to extreme flooding in the car …

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€128,000 of damage to ‘gutted’ Tinerana House

A COURT has heard more than €128,000 worth of damage was caused to Tinerana House during a burglary that “gutted” the Killaloe mansion, which is now owned by the son of Euromillions winner Dolores McNamara. It emerged that although €10,000 worth of antique light fittings and fixtures were stolen from the property, these were sold on for the nominal sum of €1,355 to a scrap metal depot. Jeffrey Lee, 44, with an address at 25 Cosgrave Park, Moyross pleaded guilty to the burglary of Tinerana House, Ballycuggeran, Killaloe on a date unknown between August 17, 2013 and September 14, 2013. A co-accused Declan Browne, 27, from Lakyle, Ardnacrusha, but who is currently living with a relative in Clonlara, pleaded guilty to handling stolen property at Clare Circle Metals, Ballysimon Road, Limerick on September 13, 2013. They both appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court this week, where the sentencing judge was given an overview of the facts in the case. Detective …

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Road funding levels not sustainable

CLARE County Council’s senior engineer, Tom Tiernan has admited that funding levels have “crashed downwards” in recent years, leading to local authorities having to “abandon tertiary roads”. Tom Tiernan commented that the entire road network needs to be in a good condition to facilitate the country’s economic recovery, saying current funding levels are not “sustainable”. He was speaking following the release last week of the National Oversight and Audit Commission Report, which found that Clare had the highest percentage of “severe structural defects” on tertiary roads in the country. However, Mr Tiernan stated that the figure presented in the report for Clare “isn’t necessarily representative” of the situation in the county. As outlined in The Clare Champion last week, the report looked at the standard of primary, secondary and tertiary roads. League tables were compiled, with criteria such as surface defects, structural distress and pavement defects all considered. According to the report, 22% of tertiary roads in Clare were found …

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Lahinch promenade masterplan completed by consultants

Clare County Council is currently preparing a programme of repair works to infrastructure damaged by the storms from December 13, 2013 to January 6, 2014. When completed, the programme will be submitted to the Central Emergency Response Unit of the Department of the Environment for approval. This news emerged following a motion from Councillor Bill Slattery asking for an update on planned remedial works for Lahinch promenade and a timescale for when the work is expected to be completed. He said he appreciated the work carried out in 2014 by the council but said more is needed. “Lahinch is one of the major seaside resorts in Munster,” he pointed out. Councillor Slattery also questioned the masterplan, which he said he has not seen. The plan was referred to by senior executive engineer, Steve Lahiffe, in his written reply to the motion. Councillor Slattery said, “This masterplan is a joke. Councillor Nagle was involved in a masterplan before I became a councillor …

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Heritage bridge damaged yet again

A protected heritage bridge in O’Briensbridge was damaged by a heavy goods vehicle last week for the second time in recent weeks. The latest incident has prompted renewed concern from O’Briensbridge community group public relations officer, Mick Murtagh about the implications of regular damage by heavy goods vehicles. According to Mr Murtagh, a low-loader carrying heavy machinery knocked a sizable portion of the downstream corner of the bridge, about five or six feet of the parapet, on Wednesday, July 16 at 4.30pm. “This very large heavy goods vehicle was using the single-lane bridge in O’Briensbridge to access the N7 or the motorway at Birdhill, County Tipperary. There were no advance warning or lead vehicle to make people aware that a heavy load was being moved. “A few motorists coming from the Birdhill direction had to drive up on the side of the ditch to allow the heavy goods vehicle pass. Traffic was backed up on the O’Briensbridge side as this …

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