Tag Archives: kilkee

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 …

ASBESTOS removal works, to be carried out by Clare County Council at sites in West Clare, have been described as “significant” and “in the millions”, in terms of the cost. Council CEO Pat Dowling disclosed that information at the monthly local authority meeting, where he also gave a public assurance that there is no immediate risk at any site. The CEO’s remarks followed a question, on the likely costs from West Clare Councillor Cillian Murphy. The Kilkee-based member noted that the council’s monthly management report referred to the assessment of tenders for remediation of sites with Asbestos Containing Material (ACM). “This is an issue we continually report on,” Mr Dowling said. “The cost will be significant, in the millions. “Right now, I want to reassure the public that there is no immediate danger to public health. The sites are maintained in a safe condition.” Senior Engineer Seán Lenihan said tenders are currently being assessed for consultants who will oversee and …

THE ESB are currently battling three power outages in the Miltown Malbay area, all of which they hope to have resolved before midnight. They say that one is affecting 1315 customers, another 1027 and the third affecting 164 of their customers. There are also a number of outages in the Kilrush area, one affecting 107 customers, with three others affecting 43, 33 and 18 customers respectively. While a number of outages in the Kilkee area have been fixed, four more still have to be resolved, and it is expected some of the customers there won’t have their power back until tomorrow afternoon.

STUNNING photos of North and West Clare’s coastal and marine environment have been recognised in a highly prestigious national competition. The Love Your Coast initiative is part of the long-running Clean Coasts Programme, and aims to celebrate Ireland’s unique coastline through the medium of photography. This year sees the 12th anniversary of the scheme and three of the images that impressed the judges most feature this county. Clare photographer Mike Orth took second place in the Wildlife and Underwater category for a picture entitled ‘Compass by Cave Light’. The skilful shot features a compass jellyfish and Mike captured the image at the entrance to Donegal Point Cave in Kilkee. A keen diver, Mike, encountered the jellyfish while diving at Kilkee. “I asked my club mates if I could enter the cave at Donegal Point first, to set up and photograph them as they entered the cave from the east side. “I set up just inside the entrance just under the …

WHILE West Clare community radio station Raidió Corca Baiscinn has kept broadcasting throughout the pandemic, it is now under serious pressure for funding. Chairman of RCB Paul Williams said that the station generally fundraises to continue operating, but that has been very difficult since March of 2020. “We receive money from various outlets such as Pobal, we get money from the BAI for programmes and we have to top that up with fundraising throughout the year. “We’d have bands playing in pubs, we’d have draws so people would go out and sell tickets, even things like the bucket shake, you can’t have any music, there has to be social distance, so we’ve been hampered in our fundraising efforts.” Without the income that would be coming in, it is hard to keep things running. “The money that we need to pay for day to day things has been reduced, we’ve been put to the pin of our collar to pay the …

Clare hospitality industry reaps staycation dividend as Irish tourists spend more money, writes Owen Ryan WITH schools back and the evenings shortening, the peak 2021 tourist season has ended in Clare. While international visitors were absent again, the fact Irish people couldn’t easily travel meant that west and north Clare got a large number of ‘staycationers’ which allowed local businesses to enjoy a very busy summer. Kilkee-based county councillor Cillian Murphy said that the area has been very busy since reopening from lockdown. “It has been unusual in that there was a short run-in, then craziness and a short run out. In a normal year you’d start in April, it’d get busier incrementally, and then you have the mad summer before winding down in September and October. “This year there was no run in, the doors opened on July 26 and it was championship football! I know from being in business myself and talking to a lot of my friends …

AN international research group has welcomed the public attention on Basking Sharks in the wake of a viral video shot by divers off Kilkee last week. The video showed a large group of the giant sharks engaged in a courtship ritual, something that was also observed off Clare’s coast at around the same time last year. A spokesperson for the Irish Basking Shark Group (IBSG) told The Champion, “Basking sharks frequently occupy Irish waters on and off from April through September. They are known to feed here, and based on instances like those observed last week where they are gathering in big groups, basking sharks likely come to Ireland to court and potentially mate.” The group’s store of knowledge has been greatly advanced in the last year, often through the help of the general public sending them pictures and reports. That then allows the multidisciplinary team to square the sightings with any environmental factors that may be bringing the sharks …