Tag Archives: Lough Derg

Clare County Council has announced a comprehensive plan relating to the future tourism development and visitor management of Holy Island (Inis Cealtra) on Lough Derg. At a ceremony in Mountshannon today, the Local Authority confirmed it has acquired 41 acres on the island which, together with the two acres already in the ownership of the Office of Public Works (OPW), now means that the entire island is in public ownership. The Council also announced its intention to procure professional experts to prepare a Visitor Management and Tourism Development Plan for Holy Island which will provide a framework, in consultation with key stakeholders, for tourism development and visitor management of the Island, whilst also ensuring the cultural heritage and natural assets that contribute to the Island’s uniqueness are maintained and protected. Still used as a burial ground, the ruins and buildings still standing on Holy Island date back as far as the 7th century when the monastic site was established by …

Members of Killaloe Coast Guard Unit responded to two call outs on Saturday night – one to a man who suffered a suspected heart attack and the second to a cruiser which ran aground on Lough Derg. The man was airlifted to hospital after he suffered cardiac arrest on board a boat at Banagher. The Killaloe unit was alerted and responded as did the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115. Ambulance paramedics and gardaí also went to the scene where the boat had moored at Banagher. The man was removed by the helicopter crew and flown to Galway University Hospital. While returning to their base at Killaloe, the unit was directed to a second emergency call. A 40-foot cruise boat with five people on board had run aground south of the Silly Island on Lough Derg. Conditions were bad with darkness setting in. Shore teams were also sent to the area by road and a stricken cruiser was …

Irish Water has been accused of engaging in “double standards” by meeting county councillors in private about some issues, while offering to make a presentation about the controversial Lough Derg abstraction project at their July meeting. The charge has been levelled by Councillor Pat Hayes, who has opted to boycott Irish Water’s regular meetings with his colleagues in the Killaloe Muncipal District Area, concerning billing and maintenance issues. Councillor Hayes took the stance after the national water authority refused to send one of its representatives to a full council meeting where issues could be debated in public and reported on by local media. The Fianna Fáil councillor believes IW is engaging in “double standards” by offering to send representatives to the full council meeting because of its desire to press ahead with the contentious water abstraction from Lough Derg. He said local councillors are strongly opposed to IW’s plans to take water from Lough Derg to boost Dublin’s water supplies. …

THE East Clare economy soared by an extra €500,000 last year, thanks to the lure of the first successful breeding pair of white-tailed sea eagles in the country in over a century. Clare County Council, which funds the popular White Tailed Sea Eagle Viewing and Information Point at Mountshannon Pier, confirmed the facility generated more than €500,000 for the local economy in 2014. A visitor survey conducted last year found that 43% of people reported the attraction of the sea eagles was the primary factor influencing their decision to visit Mountshannon. More than 10,000 people flocked to the shores of Lough Derg between mid-July and September 2014 to catch a glimpse of the eagles which had nested on Bushy Island, off Mountshannon Bay. A person from Northern Ireland on a sabbatical completed a visitor survey of those attending the viewing and information point. Dr Allan Mee of the Golden Eagle Trust acknowledged that some day trippers visiting Mountshannon last year …

A new trail showcasing the rich natural heritage of Lough Derg will be officially unveiled next week. Lough Derg (on the Shannon) Nature Trail is produced by the county councils in Clare, Galway and Tipperary, and co-funded by The Heritage Council and Lakelands & Inland Waterways. The 130-kilometre trail takes visitors from Portumna in Galway down the western shore of the lake, to Killaloe in Clare, and back up on the eastern side to Terryglass in Tipperary. The stops along the route, which can be travelled in any direction, include walking routes, lakeshore access, great bird watching locations, woodland parks for adventuring, and quiet spots to enjoy the beautiful vistas of Ireland’s third largest lake. Among the 24 discovery points featured is the monastic site at Inis Cealtra, known as the “Jewel of the Lough’, as well as the ancient woodlands of Portumna Forest Park, Derrycrag Wood, Raheen Wood and Cominchas Forest, the sheltered bays and harbours at Rosmore, Mountshannon …

While out on exercise last Thursday night, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat came to the assistance of five people whose boat had suffered engine failure, at the south western end of Lough Derg. At 8.30pm the lifeboat observed a boat, close to shore at Two Mile Gate, flash a distress signal with a torch. Upon investigation the lifeboat found five people, four adults and one child, on board a 20ft boat that had suffered engine failure. They had contacted two friends for assistance, but having attempted to tow them, the battery on their jet ski failed. The lifeboat crew, with helm Eleanor Hooker, Robbie Garland and Owen Cavanagh on board, secured the jet ski and took the boat with her passengers and an RNLI crew member on board, under tow to their mooring at Killaloe. Once the boat was safely tied alongside, the lifeboat took the two jet skiers plus their vessel upriver and under the bridge at Killaloe to their …

Forecasts of even bigger water shortages in the midlands and Dublin region will require a substantial increase in the volume of water needed from Lough Derg. Councillor Pat Burke has urged tourism, angling and business people living on the banks of Lough Derg to unite against Irish Water’s plans to increase the proposed diversion of water from the lake. The River Shannon Protection Alliance (RSPA) estimates that up to 350 million litres of water a day could be taken from Lough Derg by 2030, if Irish Water implements previous plans from Dublin City Council to address water shortages in the region. Irish Water had not responded to Clare Champion queries on Wednesday evening. A recent report revealed there is a “pressing need” for an additional supply of some 330 million litres a day by 2050. Options include taking water from the River Shannon and storing it in a reservoir to be built in the midlands, or constructing desalination plants. Dublin and …

A plan to take water from the Comeragh Mountains to deal with water shortages in the Dublin region would eliminate the need for the controversial Lough Derg water abstraction project, a retired Cork businessman has claimed. William K Loftus, who previously ran a plant hire and civil engineering business, has drafted proposals for what he described as an “elaborate plan to utilise the southern side of the Comeragh Mountains for freshwater storage and a hydro electric scheme by seawater in the lower lakes”. Mr Loftus maintains it can be achieved without interfering with the scenic aspect of the mountains on the Mahon Falls side. He has sent his proposal to Irish Water (IW), who hadn’t responded to a number of Clare Champion at the time of going to print. A Department of Environment spokesman stated the matter is for IW, while Environment Minister Alan Kelly’s private secretary acknowledged press queries from The Clare Champion but didn’t respond with a comment …