Tag Archives: Ennis Municipal District

A proposal to offer stalls for free at the controversial covered market in Ennis has got the backing of members of Ennis Municipal District, with calls for the much maligned development to become a “gold elephant”. Councillor James Breen has suggested that traders be encouraged to use the €1.75 million Ennis Market, with 12 months’ rent free. He said councillors are “getting it in the neck from every part of the county about the white elephant. Why not turn it into a gold elephant?” Councillor Breen continued, “It’s time we did something to make the market work. It’s not working at the moment and we all know it’s not working. We need a small bit of imagination.” Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Paul Murphy acknowledged that there are “a lot of bad vibes out there” about the market development. Councillor Johnny Flynn suggested that Ennis’ ratepayers, such as clothing shops, food producers and speciality shops, could use the spaces for free …

AN incident on a “dangerous stretch of road” along the N85 resulted in a signpost being “split in two” and the driver having a lucky escape from serious injury. Details of the recent incident have emerged as Councillor James Breen suggested that a crash barrier be installed on the road at the entrance to his property at Ballyknock, Kilnamona. According Councillor Breen this stretch of road been the site of a number of accidents in recent years. “This is a very dangerous stretch of road; 90% of accidents between Ennistymon and Whelan’s Quarry have happened on that stretch of road. Thank God nobody has lost their life yet and I hope in the future nobody will,” he stated. He told a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District that he had “no objection” to the council installing a crash barrier on his land. He said that the recent accident in the early hours of the morning resulted in a signpost being “split …

CLARE County Council spent more than half a million euro on the hosting of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Ennis, it has been confirmed. The local authority spent €560,000 on the Fleadh, in addition to the council’s direct financial contribution of €75,000 to the event. The estimated spend by Comhaltas on the Fleadh was in excess of €1.1 million. According to Ger Dollard, interim chief executive of Clare County Council, the local authority’s contribution was used to pay for promotional activities, improvements to infrastructure and enhancements to the town. Outlining a report on the aftermath of the festival to members of the Ennis Municipal District this week, Mr Dollard stated that the benefit to the county from the Fleadh was “overwhelmingly positive”. He said, “The overall perspective is that Ennis was presented very well and performed very well.” A number of debriefs are currently underway among the various agencies involved with the Fleadh. However, Mr Dollard said that, overall, it …

Independent Councillor Ann Norton is the new Mayor of Ennis. She was unanimously elected at this week’s annual general meeting of the Municipal District Committee of Ennis. Councillor Norton was elected to Clare County Council for the first time in 2014 and succeeds Fianna Fail’s Pat Daly in the role. Councillor James Breen (IND) has been elected deputy mayor in place of the outgoing deputy mayor, Mary Howard, Fine Gael. Mayor Norton, in her acceptance speech said, “It is a great honour for me to hold this office in a year that will see Ennis host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time since 1977. This is a huge occasion for the town and the entire county. “As mayor I also looking forward to supporting the various community initiatives and cultural projects that will be taking place over the next 12 months, including plans for the new flagship County Library project in Ennis. Another key priority of mine will be …

TRAFFIC levels are leaving residents of Corrovorrin and St Senan’s Road in Ennis “frustrated”, a meeting of local councillors has heard. Among the solutions suggested was a mini-roundabout in the area. Councillor Ann Norton, at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, asked that a traffic survey be carried out at the exit of Corrovorrin and St Senan’s Road to investigate the viability of the traffic-calming measure. She commented, “Residents in the area are quite concerned and frustrated; there is quite a lot of traffic.” Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer, told the meeting that a proposal funded by a Low Cost Safety Scheme went through a public consultation process for traffic-calming and was withdrawn at approval stage at Ennis Town Council, as approval was not forthcoming from the councillors. He explained, “The key issue in the withdrawal of the previous proposal was the position of the local shop to the junction and the requirements under road design guidelines that eliminated …

AN HISTORIC Ennis project, which certainly isn’t run of the mill, is set to get its wheel in motion in the coming weeks. Restoration work on the 19th century mill wheel at the Maid of Éireann roundabout, with the potential for producing renewable energy, is expected to be completed shortly. However, don’t expect any reduction in electricity bills with an estimated cost of more than €60,000 to make the commercial production of electricity worth €2,203 a year viable. That has not stopped calls for the private sector to get involved in making the potential for renewable energy generation by harnessing the power of the River Fergus at the site a reality. The Ennis mill wheel has been restored in a project undertaken by the Ennis Civic Trust with Ger Dollard, director of services at Clare County Council, confirming that the restoration is expected to be finished next month. Ennis Councillor Johnny Flynn believes the project has the potential for creating …

THE “dangerous” lack of lighting at a crossroads in Kilmaley was highlighted at this week’s Ennis Municipal District meeting. Councillor Tom McNamara raised the matter in a motion and was told that the council does not have a community lighting scheme in place and has no means of funding the works. Councillor McNamara told the meeting that recent night-time funerals in Kilmaley had brought home the danger to the public in the area, where the two local roads meet the Ennis to Miltown Malbay road at Kilmaley. He said, in the past few months, since a funeral home opened there, it has been become obvious how dangerous the cross is. “In the interest of public safety, something will have to be done. In November and December, there were two night funerals and people couldn’t cross the road. The footpaths on the far side of the road are in an awful condition,” Councillor McNamara stated, adding, “I got more complaints about …

ENNIS Municipal District has backed a call for Clare County Council to freeze commercial rates at their current level in the old Ennis Town Council area for the next three years, to give stability to businesses, in order for them to grow and expand. Councillor Tom McNamara raised the matter at the monthly district meeting, telling members that businesses in the town need a timeframe so they would know exactly where they stand for the next three years, allowing them to “expand their businesses and create growth” and job creation. The Kilmaley councillor asked the meeting to back his motion and to allow it to go to the full council meeting, saying, “We need to give them [Ennis businesses] the security to know that Clare County Council won’t be increasing the rates in the town for three years at least and to hope the economy will improve in that time. Then we can have a relook at it and people …