Tag Archives: Limerick

EARLY morning commuters on route 300 between Ennis and Limerick city cannot take advantage of the €5 single fare offered by Dublin Coach because the weekday 7am, 8am, 9am or 10am buses are not allowed to set down or pick up passengers at Arthurs Quay. Public servant, Joe Duffy, who lives in Ennis and works in Limerick, only discovered this restriction when his car broke down last month. “My car broke down in January and I needed to use public transport, so I made some enquiries about the times and cost of buses and trains between Ennis and Limerick. The cost of taking the train was €11.35 one-way online and at the station, and I found out that the cost to Limerick by Bus Éireann bus is €9.50 one way, and the Expressway special offer fare is €8 one way. I looked at Dublin Coach which goes from Ennis to Limerick city centre and that’s €5 one way. That was …

Clare acute patients breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday morning after a last-ditch deal averted nurses’ strike action in Ennis Hospital and other local hospitals. Over 1,000 nurses in the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and SIPTU had voted to commence a work-to-rule in University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital at 8 am on Tuesday. However, this action was deferred late on Monday night after a new deal brokered between the unions and management at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) secured the recruitment of an extra 70 nurses for the UL Hospital Group. The planned work-to-rule would have seen nurses withdraw from all non-emergency clerical and administrative duties. SIPTU health organiser, Tony Kenny said nurses had based their decision on the extreme level of overcrowding in UHL, the lack of agreed nursing levels and failure by management to agree a fair, equitable and workable solution to ease this problem. He said the …

A couple whose home was demolished without any prior notice to them while a new dual carriageway was being constructed between Limerick and Nenagh have settled their High Court damages action. Brian and Mary O’Shaughnessy claimed the last eight and a half years had been a nightmare after their single storey two bedroom old Irish farmhouse, at Annaholty, Birdhill, was razed to the ground and the site cleared on September 6th 2006. The site was never used for the new road. As a result of the loss of their home,which the couple was renovating at the time, they sought damages for alleged negligence from a number of parties including from Limerick County Council and The National Roads Authority, who it was claimed were both responsible for the operation, design and acquisition of land, and oversaw construction of the N7 dual carriageway scheme. They also sued RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd and EGIS Route Scetauroute SA (which was a joint venture in …

Two of the largest nursing unions have requested a public inquiry into the reasons behind the gross overcrowding in local emergency departments, particularly at the University Hospital Limerick (UHL). The INMO and SIPTU confirmed that their ballot for industrial action will start on Monday, January 5 in protest to the HSE’s response to chronic and persistent overcrowding at University Hospital, Limerick. Nurses are also up in arms over HSE plans to place additional patients in excess of agreed bed capacity at Ennis and Nenagh hospitals and the transfer of medical patients to Croom Hospital without agreement with the unions. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, the unions claimed there was a critical shortage of qualified nurses throughout the region with a conservative figure of 70 to 100 additional nurses required immediately on permanent contracts. The unions warned the current escalation plan will present health and safety risks to staff as well as clinical risks to patients. According to …

Clare’s All-Ireland winning captain from 1995 and 1997, Anthony Daly is to head up the Limerick underage hurling academy. Daly also managed Clare before taking on a similar role with Dublin, whom he led to National League and Leinster titles, after many years in the wilderness The announcement, this week, means that the Limerick underage hurling and football academies will, in 2015, be managed by two people who have played a huge part in the success enjoyed by Clare hurling. Back in October, Paul Kinnerk, coach to the Clare senior and under 21 All-Ireland winning hurlers of recent years, was appointed to take charge of the Limerick underage football academy. Kinnerk, a member of the Monaleen club in Limerick, has played all grades of football for the Shannonsiders. Since Daly stepped down after six seasons in charge of Dublin hurlers, there has been much speculation as to what team he would manage next. He was strongly linked with a move to …

CRATLOE are “a shining example to all clubs because of how much they value the club scene” is the view of Kilmallock manager and former Clare hurler, Ger O’Loughlin. “I have the utmost respect for the lads from Clare. When I needed lads to answer the call during my time at Clare manager, they responded and they were still in their teens. They have come on so well. “It will be a huge task for us to overcome the game they play, as there are so many areas they could beat you in. It will be a huge obstacle for us,” said the Clarecastle man, who helped his club win the Munster title in 1997. O’Loughlin continued, “When we set out this year, the primary target was to win the Limerick title. It’s not easy to get out of Limerick, as there are four or five strong contenders. We were absolutely delighted to get through that campaign and we had …

By Seamus Hayes The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick will host the Munster club hurling final between Clare champions Cratloe and Limerick’s Kilmallock on Sunday week, November 23, when the throw in time will be 2p.m. The venue was decided on the toss of a coin at the Munster council offices in Limerick on Tuesday evening. Following the meeting of Crusheen and Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh in the 2011 Munster final when the council’s decision to stage that game at Thurles received much criticism, the provincial body decided that in any similar situation in the future where teams from neighbouring counties would clash, a toss of a coin between the respective county grounds would take place to determine the venue. Last year Cusack Park hosted the final between Sixmilebridge and Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh and that was decided on a toss of a coin. The council adopted the same process this year and on Tuesday evening, a coin was tossed to determine whether Limerick’s …

The Mid-West’s reputation as a leading technology hub will be enhanced by the inclusion of UL’s Lero research centre in a €245m funding plan up to 2020, according to Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan. The fund, which is backed by €155m in government investment and €90m from industry sources, is focused on five world class research centres in Limerick, Galway and Dublin. “I am delighted that Lero will benefit from this funding. The investment will ensure that Lero can continue its cutting edge research in software development. This is good news for UL and good news for Limerick. Our growing reputation as a technology hub will be enhanced as Lero goes from strength to strength. “I would like to acknowledge the role that staff at the Lero centre have played in securing this major investment. Professor Mike Hinchey and his colleagues at Lero have created a co-ordinated, ambitious programme of research that involves other third level institutions and …