Tag Archives: killaloe

A COMBINATION of good weather, the Wild Atlantic Way and a public holiday saw huge numbers of people flock to the Clare coast at the weekend. Tourism providers across the county are reporting one of the busiest Easter weekends in recent years. One prominent hotelier said it was “more like August than April”, which meant that seasonal staff could be hired over a month earlier than usual. Attractions across the county also recorded high visitor numbers, with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, Bunratty Folk Park and Craggaunowen all recording increases this year compared to last. “It was a super weekend,” John Burke from the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point and Hotel Doolin stated. “We had a surge in customer numbers. People just want to flock to the coast to cool down and it was great to see it pick up so early in the season. It has allowed us to recruit earlier in the year. Normally, seasonal staff wouldn’t …

THE 250 berth Lough Derg Marina in Killaloe/Ballina is being offered for sale, with an asking price in excess of €500,000. Situated on the  Ballina shoreline, the marina is on an 3.17 hectare (7.8 acre) site with over 500 meters of lake frontage that enjoy panoramic views of the lake and surrounding countryside. The site includes a workshop/warehouse, ancillary offices, ground floor showroom, storeroom and an adjoining two bedroom first floor apartment. Zoned for mixed use general development, the property may suit planning permission for a new marina or a mixed development, incorporating a water related development, including private and public berthing, cruiser rental, leisure/water related activities, commercial use, holiday and family apartments/ houses or even a small hotel, subject to planning permission. The marina is being offerd for sale by joint agents, CBRE and Costelloe Estate Agents. Robert Colleran of CBRE commented, “This is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a 250 berth marina with potential to develop a new marina …

A GROUP of students from St Anne’s Secondary School have raised almost €11,000 for their charity trip to South Africa later this month. Under the stewardship of teacher Brendan O’Brien, four fourth year students are making final preparations for their trip to the Missionvale Township. The group, which includes Mr O’Brien, Emma Collins, Ballina; Ben King, Ballina; Emer Mooney, Ogonnelloe and Michael O’Shea, Bridgetown, leave for Missionvale Township, Port Elizabeth, on Saturday, January 24. They will return on Wednesday, February 4. The total funds raised, to date, after a concert they held and other donations, is €10,866. The group has also begun an appeal for unused or unwanted Christmas wrapping paper and plastic shopping bags. Each year, on December 15, which is Fr Christmas Day, 8,000 children in the Missionvale Township receive Christmas parcels from Fr Christmas, and, as this is a huge undertaking, it has to be planned in advance. As the group will also be involved in this …

RESIDENTIAL property sales clinched almost €15 million for home owners in South-East Clare last year, official figures have revealed. Some of the highest prices for homes were realised in Killaloe, Ogonnelloe and Broadford, where a stunning period house and lands netted almost €1 million, according to the Residential Property Price Register. “Killaloe is regarded as the Kinsale of the region. People aspire to come and live years over the years. Killaloe is a popular location for people who move into the area and can still travel a relatively short distance to work in Limerick, Shannon or Nenagh,” said John Phelan of Harry Brann Auctioneers. Even though the start of the year is usually considered to be a quiet period for auctioneers and property transactions, February 2014 proved to be an exceptional month, with total sales in South-East Clare netting an impressive €2.116 million. This compares with residential property deals worth €717,500 in January and €632,000 in March. Top of the …

Killaloe-based Secret Ireland Escapes was among of Irish tourism groups at Cannes, in the south of France, for this year’s International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM). ILTM is an invitation-only event for the global luxury travel industry – which was attended by more than 1,450 travel agents and decision-makers working in the luxury travel sector, as well as leading luxury travel editors and journalists, from 75 countries across the globe. ILTM takes place each year at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The busy four-day event involves a programme of one-to-one appointments and networking sessions – providing an opportunity for the Irish tourism enterprises to meet, and do business with, the travel agents who design unique, luxury travel itineraries for high net-worth international clients. Secret Escapes was one of 10 Irish businesses invited by Tourism Ireland to participate in the Cannes event. Siobhán McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s head of co-operative marketing, said: “Our participation at this year’s ILTM in Cannes was an …

DONATIONS totalling over €11,000 have been collected by a Clare couple, who were motivated to raise money for two charitable causes, after the tragic death of their baby daughter. Sophie O’Brien, who was born on May 6 last with a serious defect in her heart, died less than four weeks later on June 2 with her family in Ballina, Killaloe. Darren O’Brien, Scariff, and his wife, Pamela, decided to speak publicly after their daughter’s death to raise awareness of the condition and also to ensure Sophie’s legacy lives on by raising money for two charitable causes. Darren and Pamela are thrilled with the generosity of people who have helped them to raise €4,000 for the Ronald McDonald House behind Crumlin Hospital, where they stayed for three weeks. The funds raised will be used to help finish off renovation works in the Ronald McDonald playroom, which can cater for about 10 or 12 children. They also raised €7,100.83 for the new €4.5 million …

THE enterprise and vision that transformed unused farmland into a state-of-the-art €2 million recreational park in Killaloe has been officially recognised with a national award. Clarisford Limited scooped a runner-up award in the national Pride of Place Community Innovation category at a function in Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis on Saturday night. Members of the group from Killaloe and Ballina were presented with a statuette and a €500 cheque for displaying great community innovation. Spearheaded by former Lions and Irish rugby star, Keith Wood, Clarisford Park was set up to provide a home for Lough Derg FC, Killaloe Ballina RFC and the local scouts group. The dream of providing a new recreational area for the local community became a reality due to funding from the Keith Wood Foundation, Clare LEADER, sports capital grants and the three anchor tenants clubs, who contributed about 10% of the overall cost. In fact, it has totally exceeded initial plans and expectations, with more than …

A woman who fell into the water near Harbour Village in Killaloe was rescued and taken by ambulance for observation to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick on Thursday night. Killaloe Coast Guard Unit (KCG) was contacted by a concerned member of the public who heard a call for help close to its base at Pier Head. The team were paged by Valentia Coast Guard at 8.30 pm and within minutes there was a boat and land crew departing base and searching the Clare shore. The Shannon-based Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopter and a HSE ambulance were also requested to provide their assistance. Five minutes after departing base, the KCG land team located a cruiser tied up in Harbour Village with two people on board and were informed a female crew member had slipped from the jetty and entered the water behind the cruiser. The woman was calling for help as she had no life jacket and was unable to swim. Her husband and two members of …