Tag Archives: kilkee

A search and recovery operation resumed in Kilkee this morning following the recovery of one of the missing Japanese tourists , Mr Eiji Takagi on Sunday. Today’s search for Ms Ushio Azaki is being assisted by navy divers, facilitated by Kilkee Sub Aqua Club, while Kilkee and Doolin Coastguards are carrying out water and land searches. Martony Vaughan, area officer with the Kilkee Irish Coastguard Unit outlined how the recovery operation was carried out on Sunday. “A diving operation was facilitated just under St George’s Head by Kikee Sub Aqua Club. It started just after 11am on Sunday morning. There were also members from Lough Derg, Ennis, Aughinish and Burren Sub Aqua Club involved. Shortly after 12 noon members of Kikee and Burren Sub Aqua Clubs, diving just under St George’s Head, discovered one of the casualties at a depth of 27 metres,” Mr Vaughan explained. “The casualty was recovered to the Kilkee Coastguard boat and returned to the slipway …

Land, air and sea searches are continuing in Kilkee today (Friday) in an effort to trace the Japanese couple last seen walking in the resort early on Saturday. A holidaymaker reported seeing the couple early on Saturday in Kilkee and remarked how they “looked happy and fit”. Mr Eiji Takagi (63) Ms Ushio Azaki (61) were reported missing on Tuesday after their red Hyundai rental car was found abandoned in Kilkee and they failed to turn up for a flight to London. It’s been established that they stayed in Doonbeg for a few nights after arriving in Clare and were in Kilkee on Friday afternoon, where they were captured on CCTV at a local restaurant. They returned to Spanish Point that night and checked out of their hotel on Saturday morning. Gardaí are asking people in the accommodation sector if they had a booking for a Japanese couple who didn’t turn up. They are also appealing to anyone who finds a rucksack or …

THE ongoing depopulation of West Clare is illustrated this week by the fact that three of the most westerly schools in the county are likely to become one-teacher schools, due to dwindling pupil numbers. Doonaha is already a one-teacher school and it is expected that Querrin and Cross will have to operate with one teacher from the start of the new term in the coming days. Cross NS is not expected to take in any new pupil, while Carrigaholt and Kilkee NS are also reported to be taking in very few junior infants. However, both Moveen and Kilbaha are taking in relatively significant numbers of junior infants. Seven are due to start in Kilbaha, which brings the pupil number to 48 in Clare’s most westerly school. Moveen will have eight junior infants, bringing its total school population to an impressive 70. To illustrate the decline in numbers in Cross NS, 33 pupils attended the school in 2009 but that number …

Gardaí have issued an appeal for information on the movements of two Japanese tourists, for whom a land and sea search in ongoing in Kilkee. Eiji Takagi (63) and Ushio Azaki (61) checked out of their hotel in Spanish Point on Saturday morning and have not been seen since. The alarm was raised on Tuesday after their red Hyundai hired car was spotted in Kilkee, still in the same place where it had been parked a couple of days earlier. Concerns were heightened when it was established that they did not turn up for a flight from Shannon on Monday. A search was initiated along the northern section of Kilkee Bay on Tuesday evening but discontinued as darkness fell. The search resumed on Wednesday but was hampered by rough seas in the morning. The search resumed yet again in the afternoon and was called off when light faded. It is understood that the search on the shore and in the …

A land and sea search, involving a number of rescue and emergency services, is underway in Kilkee, following reports that two Japanese tourists are missing in the area.  Their hired car was parked in the West Clare resort for a number of  days . The man  and his wife, believed to be in their sixties, were  reported missing when they failed to turn up for a departure flight to another country. The search operation was initiated about 5pm on Tuesday evening, involving a number of Coast Guard units and the Shannon-based rescue helicopter, and it was resumed at first light today (Wednesday).

KILKEE man Charlie McGrath is fundraising for a volunteer working trip to Kenya next January. While in Mombasa for a fortnight in 2016, the retired fire fighter, who operates a fuel business in Kilkee, will spend his time working with a Ray of Sunshine Foundation building project. As part of his efforts to raise €3,000, Charlie is organising a concert with TR Dallas in the Kilkee Bay Hotel on Friday night. “It’s all in aid of building a rescue centre in Mombasa, Kenya. It’s in support of the work of Dr Rory O’Keeffe, from Ennis, who is the medical supervisor in that centre. This is my third trip to Kenya,” Charlie told The Clare Champion. “The first time I was there, we built a rescue centre for blind children. We then built an extension to an overcrowded school and this time we’re building a medical centre for children who have been through difficult times. “It’s taking 200 volunteers to complete this …

ONE person per day was rescued by a lifeguard in Clare last month, as 32 people were rescued during July. A total of 16 people were rescued from the water, the highest number in July for any county nationwide and Clare’s water safety officer, Claire McGrath, has praised the tremendous work of lifeguards. The figures published by Irish Water Safety also confirmed that a further 16 people were rescued from crafts, while there were 16 children who were reported as being lost for a period of time. Irish Water Safety said more than 1,100 accidents were prevented, as a result of positive actions by lifeguards. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Ms McGrath said it was a testament to the dedicated work of lifeguards in the county that more than 1,100 accidents were prevented and so many people were rescued. “The beaches in Clare are extremely busy and the lifeguards do a tremendous job,” she said. “We have a number of lifeguards …

Ireland’s bathing waters are of still of a very high standard, even if they are a bit cooler than popular European holiday destinations, according to the EPA. Around three-quarters of all Irish bathing waters (128 coastal and 9 inland waters) met the new stricter standard of ‘Excellent’ quality based on an assessment of data for the period 2011-2014. Eleven bathing waters in County Clare achieved the ‘Excellent’ standard rating, including Ballyallia Lake, Ballycuggeran, Bishopsquater, Cappagh Pier in Kilrush, Fanore, Kilkee, Lahinch, Mountshannon, Lough Derg, Spanish Point and White Strand – Doonbeg and Miltown Malbay. Current water quality at most sites around the country is extremely good with only a few problems having been reported to SPLASH (splash.epa.ie), the national bathing water website. The website has an interactive, colour-coded map that allows people to check out any of the 137 EU identified bathing waters. Peter Webster, senior scientist at the EPA and author of the 2014 Bathing Water report commented, “Despite …