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Tag Archives: Joe Cooney

Joe Cooney elected Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council

FINE Gael’s Joe Cooney was this afternoon elected Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council at its AGM, succeeding Killaloe’s Tony O’Brien. Councillor Gabriel Keating was elected leas Cathaoirleach. It was the 50th Council AGM to be attended by Councillor PJ Kelly and a special presentation was made to him to mark the milestone. On his last day wearing the chain of office, Councillor O’Brien said that when he was first elected to the Council the possiblity of one day being Cathaoirleach had been in the back of his mind, and he said it had been “a dream come true” to represent Clare locally, nationally and internationally. He praised the Council staff and his colleagues for their support over the last years, while he said that Clare’s volunteers are “the heartbeat of our county.” When the presentation was made to Councillor Kelly he said that when he was first elected in 1974 “I didn’t expect to be here after nine elections or …

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Planners give green light for new homes in Clare village

GROWTH is on the cards for the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills now that planning permission has been granted for a development of three homes at Iragh.  Clare County Council gave the green light for the development, on a site of just over half an acre, subject to 20 conditions. After assessing the plans and seeking Further Information (FI) on certain aspects, the local authority found the plans to be acceptable, given the zoning of the land, which is earmarked for “low density residential and mixed use”.  Among the 20 conditions attached to planning permission is the requirement that the homes may only be sold to individual purchasers and not a corporate entity. This is in order “to ensure an adequate choice and supply of housing, including affordable housing, in the common good”. Before construction begins, East Clare Construction must submit a lighting plan for the site. It must also revise plans so that pedestrian circulation is possible around each of …

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Banner beaten but not broken

Public compliance ‘undoubtedly saved lives’ CLARE all but closed down on Tuesday afternoon as Storm Barra saw a red alert imposed across the county. Schools across Clare were shut on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while thousands of people, especially in the North and West of the county, were without power for a period of time. While there were a number of trees down, the level of damage wasn’t as severe as many had feared, and certainly didn’t rival Storms Christine and Darwin, which wreaked havoc in 2014. However, Chief Fire Officer with Clare County Council Adrian Kelly said that the precautions taken by the public had been crucial in preventing loss of life. “The widespread compliance with the ‘stay at home’ Status Red alert in Clare alert undoubtedly saved lives given the extent of fallen trees and flying debris around the county. The closing of schools and businesses, together with the safety messaging both locally and nationally greatly helped to …

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GAA chair says everybody must be protected

CLARE GAA chairman Joe Cooney is very disappointed that attendances at hurling and football games must be restricted to 200 for the foreseeable future but accepts the Covid-19 guidelines must be adhered to protect everybody in the grounds. “I, like everybody else involved in team sports, would love to see numbers go up to 500 but we must accept the delay on this, as part of not advancing to Phase 4 of reopening the country. We must go along with the Government’s decision in the best interest of our players, officials, groundsmen and fans. We must look after everybody from a health and safety point of view. “I’m not in favour of games being played behind closed doors but that’s how it is. The atmosphere is not there; there’s nobody there to cheer the lads on,” he said. The 200-person limit includes players, backroom teams, media, officials, stewards and the rest of the volunteers that assemble to stage matches – …

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Football finalists to renew rivalry

Last year’s senior football finalists, St Joseph’s Miltown, the winners, and neighbours and old rivals Kilmurry Ibrickane will lock horns in the opening round of this year’s championship. The repeat pairing was the notable first round draw made by county board chairman Joe Cooney at Clareabbey on Wednesday evening. It is an intriguing tie given that last year a replay was required to determine the outcome. The football championship throws in the August bank holiday weekend. In hurling, kingpins Sixmilebridge face a daunting challenge in the opening round of their title defence when they face old adversaries Éire Óg. In last year’s campaign the sides met in the quarter-final where the Bridge were hard pressed to get the better of a Shane O’Donnell inspired Ennis side and in a game which could have gone either way. No doubt the Townies will be thirsting for revenge when the championship throws in on the weekend of July 24-25-26. Broafdford, who return to …

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Pat Hayes is New Killaloe District Cathaoirleach

THE new Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District is Fianna Fáil’s Pat Hayes. The Caher-based councillor took over the role from Pat Burke of Whitegate who has held the role for two consecutive terms. Councillor Hayes was nominated on Monday at the AGM of the district by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan and seconded by Councillor Tony O’Brien. Taking over the role, Councillor Hayes thanked Councillor Burke for his work for the last two years. He also outlined his priorities for the year ahead, including furthering projects like the Killaloe Bypass and Inis Cealtra. “We have many plans in the pipeline in this district,” he noted. “What I want to see now is delivery.” Director of Services Ann Haugh thanked Councillor Burke and welcomed Councillor Hayes to his new role. “I have no doubt but that you’ll keep us on our toes,” she said. The new Leas Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District is Councillor Joe Cooney of Fine Gael.

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Cooney says nation’s health is top priority

CLARE GAA County Board chairman Joe Cooney has said the nation’s health must be the number one priority when it comes to a decision on the resumption of any sporting activities. His clear statement comes ahead of a special GAA congress, to be held remotely, on this Friday to propose decision-making flexibility to for a variation in competition structures, if required, in advance of resuming games. Clare GAA will be represented at what could be termed a “personal distancing conference” by the board’s Central Council representative Simon Moroney. In a statement, the GAA at national level said it acknowledges the Government announcement of the extension of current restrictions until May 5 and its impact on the scheduling of sporting events and working practices, and “has factored the extension of the arrangements into its contingency planning”.  Club activity remains suspended until May 5 and the senior inter-county championships, scheduled to begin in May, will be postponed until further clarity on the current situation …

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People power as Ballinruan polling station stays open

LATE last week, there was surprise and then anger in Ballinruan as it emerged that there were no plans to use the local community centre as a polling station in the General Election. The community centre is where Ballinruan people have voted for decades and some works have been carried out on it even since last year’s local elections, with a view to keeping the facility up-to-date and as user-friendly as possible. Frustration was even more acute, as there was no notice given of the decision to close. “It’s very disappointing for people in Ballinruan, who always voted there and something else they have removed from a rural community without even telling us,” was part of the content of one post put on the Ballinruan Development Association Facebook page. However, local people were not about to take the decision lying down and quickly began to mobilise to ensure that the centre, which would have been used by generations of local …

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