Tag Archives: kilkee

THE latest news and views from Clare Champion journalists Carol Byrne and Owen Ryan. This week they discuss the inquest into last May’s double drowning in Ennis, the plight of Shannon Airport, the Kilkee murder trial, LIT opening a Clare campus and the impact of smartphone use on young minds.

After deliberating for over three hours a jury in the Central Criminal Court acquitted a 23 year-old Kilrush man of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. Robbie Walsh, (23), of Island View had pleaded not guilty to murdering 25-year-old Karl “Gobbo” Haugh at Marian Estate, Kilkee in the early hours of August 6, 2017. The jury took over three hours to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart thanked the jurors for their time and attendance and excused them from further civic duty for five years. She remanded Walsh in custody and ordered a report from the Probation Service pending sentence hearing on March 25 next. Earlier, the jurors had sought clarification from Ms Justice Stewart about the verdicts open to them. Ms Justice Stewart said for a guilty verdict, the jury must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Walsh had intended to kill or cause serious harm, where …

THE Marine Casualty Investigation Board has today published its report into the incident in Kilkee, on September 12, 2016, which led to the Coast Guard volunteer, Caitríona Lucas, tragically losing her life. Speaking this afternoon, Transport Minister, Shane Ross, said that the reports recommendations will be implemented. The report found that there was  no evidence of an “effective management system” at the Kilkee Irish Coastguard Station. Catríona Lucas was a member of Doolin Coastguard but was on board a Kilkee Coastguard Delta rigid inflatable when she died. “I wish to again express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Caitríona, who lost her life so tragically, doing the volunteer work she loved. Caitríona was a talented, hardworking and deeply committed member of the Doolin Coast Guard Unit. She was a selfless member of a unique group of people, those men and women who dedicate themselves to the protection of others at great risk to themselves. Caitriona made …

WHEN Donald Trump comes to West Clare, one house he shouldn’t call to is Janet Burke’s, even though she is a fellow American abroad. Trump might not be a popular president anyway, but when Janet talks about him it is very clear her dislike of The Donald is very acute. Even when he was just a celebrity billionaire she didn’t care for him, and her attitude only hardened as the Trump presidential campaign proceeded, and Janet says his two years in office have been much worse than she feared. “Living through that election process, the things he was saying and the way he was behaving, at first it seemed like a joke. From the beginning it was terrifying to think that this man might get that job. He was so erratic, he was so divisive and hateful. “I was worried when he got it, but he has far surpassed how bad I thought he could be. I didn’t think he …

  The Government has come under fire for “neglecting” two of the main West Clare towns – Kilkee and Kilrush. Michael Haugh from Doonbeg is keenly aware of impact of rural depopulation in West Clare, having seen the closure of Baltard National School in recent years. He believes that urgent action is needed to secure a major new industry for West Clare. “The Government has neglected towns like Kilkee and Kilrush. They are putting no new industry into these towns. “I have been to towns in Kerry where ministers like Dick Spring got in industries to places like Tralee and Killorglin. “What can be done to create jobs? A big factory should be brought into Kilrush. They have these factories in places like Killorglin, Kenmare and Cahersiveen but not in Clare. “Our problem is we don’t have a senior minister. Brendan Daly brought the Kilrush Creek Marina to Kilrush, nothing else has happened since then. “We need a big industry …

DISTURBING new figures have revealed that the projected number of enrolments in seven West Clare schools, in just three years’ time, will just be sufficient to fill a single classroom. Additional statistics also found that there is significant decline in full time residents living in Doonbeg village, with only 41% of houses occupied permanently. According to information obtained by the Clare Champion, the combined influx of Junior Infants in the three most westerly parishes on the Loop Head Peninsula, Kilkee, Carrigaholt and Cross, will be just above 30 pupils in 2021. Co-parish priest of Kilkee, Cross, Carrigaholt and Doonbeg, Fr Gerry Kenny warns that more national school amalgamations will have to be considered in the peninsula, unless there is a dramatic increase in population. Fr Kenny expressed grave concern about the generation gap, pointing to the lack of young people in their 20s and 30s, settling down to live in West Clare. “While urbanisation will always be a factor, current …

ACROSS the May Bank Holiday weekend, Kilkee had no coast guard service available in the event of an emergency. A source has told The Clare Champion that the limited service the Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard had been providing was further down-graded, following a recent training incident. It has also been claimed that the current coast guard crew have not recently passed an Operational Readiness Assessment (ORA) in more than two years. The Clare Champion contacted the Department of Transport on Wednesday for a comment on the claims, but it had not responded at the time of going to press. “The coast guard will say that they have a boat. We all know they have a boat but they don’t have a crew. Every time they need to go in the water, they need to bring an instructor down from Maritime SAR to even get on the water to do the training. There are about six people who …

KILKEE was in shock and mourning on Friday following news that a local man, in his mid 50s, had died following a fall while taking down Christmas lights. The accident happened in the early afternoon. The man was airlifted to University Hospital Limerick where he passed away. He has yet to be formally named. However he was very well known in the community, particularly in sporting and business circles. He played football with St Senan’s Kilkee and was also a regular participant in the West Clare Mini Marathon, which was due to take place on Sunday but has been postponed as a mark of respect.