Tag Archives: kilkee

TWO Kilkee residents have poured cold water on plans by Fáilte Ireland and Clare County Council to locate WC, shower and changing rooms facilities for water-based activities in the town. Serious questions have been raised in an objection lodged with An Bord Pleanála about the proposed location of this development and whether there has been a proper assessment of alternative sites or the use of existing buildings. The submission by Michael Nolan, solicitor and his wife, Mary O’Dowd, East End, Kilkee claimed no evidence has been produced that there is a need for the proposed facility. Their submission also states that the site selection is incorrect, unsuitable and contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. They further claim there are more than sufficient facilities already in existence, both in terms of existing buildings and alternative sites, if it is accepted at all that the proposal is acceptable. This development is based on a proposal from Fáilte …

AN exploration of the Gaelic songs of County Clare has unearthed 130 songs, with that figure continuing to grow. The outcome of the project, carried out by actor, writer and director Diarmuid de Faoite titled Dúchas is Dóchas (Heritage and Hope), will be launched by the Clare Arts Office and The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) this Saturday in Cultúrlann Sweeney, Kilkee. The work was done as part of the third Duala: Creator-in-Residence Scheme. “It wasn’t today nor yesterday that the people of County Clare fell in love with music and the county has a deserved reputation in the field of traditional music,” said de Faoite. “Despite this reputation, however, songs in Irish are rarely heard and even rarer still are songs in Irish from the county, save the ubiquitous ‘Beidh Aonach Amárach’,” he noted. “Though the music has been preserved and enriched, our voice was lost quite suddenly and traumatically with the rapid loss of language” he added, posing …

FOLLOWING Eddie Lenihan sharing the story of his rental nightmare in Kilkee, local councillor Cillian Murphy says it illustrates a wider problem in the seaside town. “There’s no getting away from the fact that people who want to live permanently in the town can’t get long term rentals. “Eddie isn’t the only one that we know of, I think it really crystallises what we’re losing. Here’s a guy with a job who can work remotely, can elect to live in Kilkee, they have a family and it’s a loss to the community, the kids are a loss to our schools and sporting organisations. “Eddie would have been very involved with Foróige, with the football clubs and sporting organizations, as would his wife. The social capital that that family unit brought to the town is gone. “It just shows in one family the loss to our community of not having long term rentals available and affordable housing.” Councillor Murphy said that …

SHORT term rentals has been a major factor in making housing unaffordable, not just in cities, but in places like Kilkee as well. Eddie Lenihan now lives in Adare, having had to leave Kilkee due to the near impossibility of finding a place to rent there year-round. Although a native of Limerick, he was spending much of his time in Kilkee from his earliest days. “My parents had a house down there from when I was born and I’m 42 now. I used go every Easter, Christmas, all summer. I played football there from under 14, we won a few underage titles, Kilkee is my community, it’s where I grew up, where my best friends are from. I’ve a deep connection with it.” A civil engineer, he left Ireland during the recession, but just after Eddie and his wife became parents, they moved back to West Clare, with plans to settle there that ultimately did not work out. “We were …

SINCE the pandemic the value of property in the Kilkee area has increased significantly, and while this is good news for some people in the area, it is also causing problems for others. Councillor Cillian Murphy said that much of the local housing stock consists of purpose built holiday homes, but many other houses are now being bought by people looking for second homes. “There are a couple of aspects to it, one is there is a lot of housing in Kilkee that was granted planning permission specifically for holiday homes, so they’re operating within the space they’re supposed to be operating,” said the cathaoirleach of West Clare municipal district. “What we’re seeing more and more of now is that even in our local authority estates houses are coming up for sale, it might be the second time they’ve been sold, and our local community are competing in an international market for housing. They have to compete with people who …

AN application to extend a mobile home holiday park in Kilkee has been refused permission by the local authority. Cunningham’s Holiday Park at Well Road, Kilkee Lower, had applied to extend and provide an additional 20 mobile home sites. A number of objections had been made to the proposed development. A cover letter accompanying the planning application said, “The proposed development consists of an extension to the existing holiday park (mobile home park). “The proposed extension will be located within the applicant’s own lands, which adjoin the existing park and the extension will accommodate an additional 20 serviced mobile home sites. “All 20 sites will be for static mobile homes and will be sold individually to private clients as is the case with the existing park.” An objection made by a number of residents of Dunlickey Road stated, “There are too many mobile homes in Kilkee at present, more mobile homes than residents. “These mobiles are unoccupied for most of …

A West Clare father-of-two was lauded for bringing “joy, hope and laughter” into the lives of countless people during tributes read out at his Funeral Mass on Friday, writes Dan Danaher. Paul Dillon (42) Knocknagore, Kilkee, and formerly of Tullycrine, Kilrush died tragically after he was swept out to sea near Farrihy Bay a few miles from Kilkee on Sunday afternoon. Addressing the congregation at Our Lady Assumed into Heaven Church, Doonbeg, co-parish priest, Gerry Kenny said everyone was gathered at this Funeral Mass to remember and pray for Paul Dillon. At this time, Fr Kenny offered deep felt support, prayers and sympathy to his wife, Roisín, son, Thomas, daughter, Aoife, parents, Paddy and Kitty Dillon, family, relatives and friends. Fr Kenny recalled Paul walked with his council colleagues as they formed a guard of honour for former local authority employee Michael Ryan, Bansha, when his funeral left Kilkee Church the previous Friday. “Little did anyone think that we would …

A man has died after he was swept out to sea while walking along the shoreline in West Clare this afternoon, reports Pat Flynn. A major search and rescue operation was mounted after the alarm was raised at around 2.15pm. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry launched and coordinated a multi-agency search and rescue operation in an area north of Kilkee. The Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard; the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter – Rescue 115 – the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat; National Ambulance Service and Gardaí were requested to respond. The exact details of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy are not yet known however, it’s understood that the man in his 30s had been out walking on the shoreline near Farrihy Bay north of Kilkee when he lost his footing and and fell into the sea. Emergency services responded to the area by land, air and sea and …