Tag Archives: loop head

A comprehensive report on the proposed marketing of the Loop Head and Kilkee Heritage Trail on the Wild Atlantic Way, has identified 18 heritage sites in the peninsula area. The report on the pilot project, a collaboration between Clare County Council Heritage Officer, Congella Maguire, the Heritage Council, Fáilte Ireland and Loop Head Tourism, will be launched later this month. The project was community-based with the aim to develop a local heritage trail along this 60km section of the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way. A total of 18 heritage trail sites were deemed to be worthy of inclusion in the final list, which includes the four Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Points. One of the key recommendations in the report is that consideration be given to locating information on Carrigaholt Castle in the village which is within sight and walking distance of the historic building. “Due to the prominence of Carrigaholt Castle in the local landscape it is recommended that dialogue be …

A group of amateur ham radio operators will wind back the clock at Loop Head Lighthouse this weekend, when they attempt to communicate via radio and Morse code with hundreds of radio clubs throughout the world. The Limerick Radio Club, which features members from Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary, will broadcast non-stop for 48 hours from the West Clare lighthouse as part of the 17th International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). During the broadcast, from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday, visitors to the popular tourism landmark will be able to listen into communications with some of the other participating ham radio operators, broadcasting from 400 other lighthouses and lightships in 65 countries. Last year, the Limerick Radio Club successfully made contact with lighthouses and lightships as far away as Brazil, Australia, Tonga, French Guiana, Asiatic Russia, Ecuador, The Azores and The US Virgin Islands. The majority of all radio contacts were made with operators in the United States …

A ‘tractors only’ sign is still greeting tourists and local residents who want to use an important link road on the Loop Head Peninsula. Frustration is growing among householders living on the Ross Road, which connects the Loop Head Lighthouse with the Bridges of Ross, over the delay in making this route passable for cars. Despite numerous pledges from local politicians that this road would be repaired before the Local Elections on May 24 last, Clare County Council will not be in a position to start work until July 7. The roads at Ross Bay and Rinevella were extensively damaged during the January and February storms, when coastal protection gabions were washed up during extreme weather conditions. While the works at Rinevella will not start until September or October, the council has pledged to carry out temporary repairs to this road in the meantime. A sign stating ‘Suitable only for tractors’ was erected by Clare County Council in February, to …

THE first chairman of the new West Clare Municipal Authority is seeking at least 33% of Clare County Council’s budget to be spent in the west and north of the county. Councillor PJ Kelly was elected chairman of the body at last Friday’s AGM, attended by all eight of the recently elected county councillors, who serve in the enlarged West Clare constituency. The meeting also decided to restrict to six the number of the public who can attend the bi-monthly meetings, while senior engineer, Cyril Feeney, acknowledged the council is facing challenges in adequately staffing the district, which stretches from Loop Head to Ballyvaughan. Councillor Kelly produced figures which he said proved Clare County Council collected millions of euro in rates from West Clare. “The county council takes in €36.2m in rates. Ennis takes in €5.4m and Kilrush €0.7m. That comes to a grand county-wide figure of approximately €42m. One establishment in West Clare, ESB Moneypoint, pays €13m. That is …

THREE weeks after Storm Darwin resulted in serious damage to the seawall and the Strand Line in Kilkee, the damage is still evident on the seafront. The issue was raised at this week’s West Clare Electoral Area meeting by Councillor Patrick Keane, who asked for a report on what he called “the sinking Strand Line road,” in Kilkee. Loop Head Tourism chairman and Kilkee business man, Cillian Murphy has also expressed concern at the state of the Strand Line, comparing it to a war zone. “I’m standing here looking at a hole that has been dug out of the pavilion in front of the Esplanade. It must be 30 feet by 40 feet. There was a small breach but the sea is after widening the breach and sucking everything out from underneath it. A load of concrete would have shuttered up the front of it and prevented further damage,” Cillian Murphy suggested. “From the esplanade down as far as the …

THE Gathering  proved to be a winner with communities, larges and small, all over the country. An  event marking the success of the initiatives undertaken in  Clare in 2013 was held at Shannon Airport last night. Representatives of the 250 festivals and events held around Clare during 2013 were presented with “Thank You” certificates by Mayor of Clare Joe Arkins. He said they had made an important contribution to the positive year experienced by the local tourism industry in 2013.  Mayor Arkins was joined at the event by members of the County Clare Gathering Steering Committee, and representatives of Ireland Reaching Out and event sponsor Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. “Despite the scepticisn expressed in some quarters at national level regarding the potential impact of the Gathering Ireland initiative on tourism, it has become quite clear that the initiative was one of the primary factors behind the excellent performance of the local sector last year,” explained Mayor Arkins. He continued, “From …

THE establishment of a visitor centre beside Moneen Church, Kilbaha, next to the location of the Little Ark, is to be discussed in the new year. Councillor Gabriel Keating is to ask for the help of the Diocese of Killaloe to bring his idea to reality. Moneen Church is situated close to Loop Head Lighthouse, which was opened to the public in July 2011. The Little Ark was a large wooden portable box used by then parish priest of Moyarta and Kilballyowen, Fr Michael Meehan, to celebrate mass on Sundays during the period 1852-1857. People were married and babies were baptised at the site. At the time, Marcus Keane, an agent of absentee landlord Westby, prohibited the celebration of mass. Keane tried to forcibly convert the local population to Protestantism. The Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Loyola Hearn, has expressed a keen personal interest in the Little Ark and is hoping to visit the historic artefact in early 2014. At next …

By Peter O’Connell FIGURES released on Tuesday show more than 19,000 people (14,101 adults, 5,082 children) visited Loop Head Lighthouse during the six-month opening period up to Sunday, September 29. Clare County Council, which manages the facility in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), said preliminary estimates indicate 75% of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 55% were holidaymakers and 30% were day trippers. Local visitors accounted for the remainder. Overseas visitors made up 25% of the total figure. The lighthouse was opened on a weekend basis from St Patrick’s weekend until mid-May, after which it was opened daily until the end of September. Opening hours were extended by two hours to 7.30pm during late July and August to accommodate the surge in visitor numbers to the West Clare landmark this summer. The visitor figures represent a jump of 2,000 on the same period in 2012. Last year’s figures showed that 17,423 …