Tag Archives: killaloe

MUNSTER and Ireland rugby star Keith Earls was among the interested parties at  Shannon Airport terminal this week,  as more than 700 young people from around the country gathered to look at solutions for how people will live, work, play, learn, shop and travel in 2064. With support and mentoring from Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) investors, the Irish dragons Barry O’Sullivan, Peter Casey, Gavin Duffy and Sean O’Sullivan as well as Dell’s Entrepreneur in Residence Ingrid Vanderveldt, the students competed for an array of prizes with the overall honours going to Limerick school Castletroy College. A number of Clare schools took part, including St Flannan’s. Luke Lawlor was one of the  students present from the Ennis school and he said his group were looking at new possibilities for accommodation. “We have an idea for automated housing, where you have a central AI in your house that does all your cooking and cleaning, if you’re away on holidays it’d look …

By Owen Ryan IT now seems almost certain that no school in Shannon will be divested from the Catholic Church, as the  Bishop of Killaloe, Kieran O’Reilly has ruled out making any change. In April of last year, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn published the results of primary school patronage surveys from 38 towns across the country, Shannon being the only place in Clare that was included. The report, which followed that survey, recommended that the Bishop of Killaloe be asked to consider options that would provide accommodation for an Educate Together school locally. It claimed that its survey had established sufficient demand for such a school. However, Shannon parish priest Fr Tom Ryan told The Clare Champion that the bishop feels that any change is unnecessary, after consultation with the community. “The bishop, as patron, was asked to report to the minister by the end of October and he reported that after extensive consultation with the schools in Newmarket and …

A RETIRED businessman is hoping to reside permanently in a Killaloe ghost estate in March, after making substantial progress with the connection of services. Fed up of waiting for the completion of the sale of Ard na Deirge and the completion of connections such as water, sewerage and public lighting, John Ryan Snr decided to try to progress matters himself. In recent weeks, Mr Ryan has been busy tiling the hallway, kitchen and bathrooms and fitting out the house he purchased in 2006 but was subsequently “locked out” of for over seven years. Thanks to the provision of the watermains past his house, Mr Ryan hopes to have running water within the next two weeks, once a plumber completes some relatively minor connection works. This will, in turn, pave the way for an electrician to connect his electricity supply, which will make it habitable on a permanent basis in late February or March. John Ryan Snr has also been working …

LIMERICK City Council is inviting members of the public to have their say on a proposal to rename two of the city’s landmark locations in honour of  Brian Boru and John F Kennedy. The council  wants to gauge public opinion on the renaming of The Shannon Bridge as ‘John Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge’ and the area at Merchant’s Quay in the vicinity of Limerick City Hall and St Mary’s Cathedral, as ‘Brian Boru Square’. JFK, who had close ancestral ties with Limerick, was honoured as a Freeman of Limerick, which he visited during his 1963 trip to Ireland. 2014 marks the 1000th anniversary of Brian Boru’s death following his victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf. The High King of Ireland was also born on the banks of the River Shannon at  Killaloe, a short distance from Limerick.

THE jury is still out on whether the old Killaloe Courthouse will be handed over by the Courts Service for community use. There have been renewed calls for the Courts Service to transfer the courthouse to Clare County Council in the wake of the huge publicity generated by the hearing of the Jennifer Lauren air-rage case at the Brian Boru on the Hill bar and restaurant in Ballina. Over and past two years, barrister and Labour Deputy, Michael McNamara has been told on numerous occasions by the Courts Service that a decision on the future of Killaloe Courthouse is imminent. “It is now time for the Courts Service to make a decision once and for all on what to do with this protected structure in the centre of historic Killaloe. This was an issue which I addressed in my submission to the Killaloe Strategic Improvement Plan and one which now needs to be dealt with by the Courts Service, which …

THE night skies over Lough Derg were illuminated with fireworks, as the new year dawned, marking the start of the Brian Boru Millennium Celebrations – Killaloe Ballina 2014. It’s a year-long festival, built around the famous High King of Ireland, who was killed after victory in the Battle of Clontarf  in 1014. The aim of the organising committee is to “reclaim” during 2014 Killaloe’s place as capital of Ireland, as it was during the Clare king’s reign. On New Year’s Eve, people from near and far descended on the twin towns to witness a ceremonial march from four locations to meet at Kincora, the spot where Brian’s palace once stood. In addition to the launch, the festival will include four other key anchor events: Killaloe Ballina St. Patrick’s Festival April Millennium Commemorations Féile Brian Boru 2014, leading a packed summer programme including the Killaloe Pink Ribbon Walk October 10.14 Celebrations The festival will also see the launch of the new National Brian …

By Dan Danaher CHARLIE, the Great Dane who became an international hero after a story in last week’s Clare Champion, is to be honoured with a national award. The two-year-old gentle giant, who has captured the hearts and imagination of people around the world, for his ability to detect when a Killaloe toddler is going to have a seizure, will be officially recognised by the Irish Great Dane (IGD) Club at a ceremony in Dublin. The IGD club, which is affiliated to the Irish Kennel Club, will present Charlie with a national merit award in the National Show Centre, possibly next March. This is just one example of the phenomenal response to last week’s Clare Champion story where Arabella Scanlan outlined the dog’s ability to detect her daughter Brianna’s frequent seizures, up to 20 minutes before the start of each episode. Following a week of national and international headlines, Arabella told The Clare Champion she is overwhelmed with all the …

MARK Bowers was shocked when consultant urological surgeon, Garrett Durkan looked him in the eye in the Mid-Western Radiation Oncology Centre, Limerick and confirmed he had prostate cancer. While no one is prepared for this devastating news, the fact that 17 months earlier an ultrasound test revealed a cyst was benign, made it an even more bitter pill for the 52-year-old to swallow. Looking back at that day last October, the Killaloe man felt it was akin to “an icy hand grabbing your heart and squeezing it”. Three previous Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests had shown elevated antigens but none of them were considered to be at a dangerous level. Right from the start of his diagnosis, he was assured all the way that he would be fine, as the cancer was detected in its early stages. His brother-in-law in Canada, who is in his early 70s, is dying from prostate cancer. Mark believes his brother-in-law, who ironically nursed people …