Tag Archives: march

A petition of 3,500 signatures requesting county councillors to halt plans to build on two riverside car parks in Ennis, was presented to Ennis Mayor, Pat Daly at Clare County Council buildings this morning. This was following a silent march of over 200 townspeople and business owners who marched from the Abbey Street car park to Clare County Council’s buildings on the New Road. The atmosphere on the morning was convivial with a number of marchers holding a large inflatable elephant to symbolise the potential of the proposed development becoming a ‘white elephant’. The march was organised by the Save Ennis Town voluntarily group who are opposed to the council and Ennis 240 DAC proceeding with plans to build on the two car parks. The group says the move would deprive the town of vital civic and amenity spaces and view such plans as “destructive”. Joan Duggan, a concerned citizen with limited mobility delivered the red petition box to Councillor Daly and …

A stone sculpture commissioned by Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne and  created by Kilnamona sculptor Michael McTigue has recently been erecdted in Corofin. It is in memory of the famous march of the local forty shilling freeholders, led by Fr John Murphy PP of Kilnaboy Rath and Corofin,  into Ennis in July 1828, in support of Daniel O’ Connell’s election. With the famous Burren terrain depicted in the background, the monument shows Fr. Murphy on his horse and gig followed by the local 40 shilling freeholders carrying tree branches in support of O’ Connell. St. Bridget’s Church, the first architect designed Catholic Church in the Killaloe Diocese since the reformation, built by Murphy in 1822, features in the background. It was here that Murphy made his famous speech in the Irish language to his parishioners seeking their support for O’Connell and Catholic Emancipation. This speech was widely reported both locally and well beyond the area and was witnessed by …

Figures just released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry for vehicle sales for the first quarter of this year show that new car sales are up by 26% on last year. At almost 50,000 cars sold, the first quarter of this year has outperformed all other periods since 2008. Sales in March are up 23%, reflecting a continuation of the consumer confidence that has been apparent since the start of the year. The Commercial Vehicle market is also positive, with light commercial/van sales up 43% this quarter and up 45% in March alone. Heavy commercial/truck sales are up 40% so far this year and 31% in March alone. Alan Nolan, SIMI Director General commented “Vehicle sales for the first quarter of 2014 remain significantly ahead of last year. Already we have registered over two thirds of total car sales for last year. We are clearly starting from a low base but the most notable point has been the …