Tag Archives: O’Callaghan’s Mills

FOR almost 50 years Mike Noonan has been coming to The Blacksticks Bar but he can see its the type of bar that might not survive for very much longer. Mike, who doesn’t take a drink himself, is still very critical of the changes to the drink driving laws, introduced by a government minister who he feels has no understanding of rural Ireland. “Bring Shane Ross out of Dublin City Centre and he’d get lost. If you landed him here and turned off the street light he’d panic, he’d be looking for the public transport home.” He adds, “It’s a shame, just because of a man above in Dublin City. If you landed him here, he’d get frightened when he saw the dark, he wouldn’t be used to it. But I suppose it’s in now and it’s there to stay. I honestly don’t think it will save any life.” Mike says there are degrees of drink driving.“If you go into …

BECKMAN Coulter, based in Lismeehan, O’Callaghan’s Mills is to create 70 jobs over the next two to three years as it just announced expansion plans today. Beckman Coulter develops, manufactures and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing and has revealed it is expanding the company’s development and manufacturing facility at Lismeehan. The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. The company’s 9,700 sq. metre site at Lismeehan in County Clare is a strategic site for the global Beckman Coulter Diagnostics business, with 330 people working there. Work carried out currently on the site includes the development, manufacture and support of reagents (mixtures for use in chemical analysis) for clinical chemistry, immunochemistry and haematology product lines. The expansion will provide capacity for two new product streams at the Clare site, and will also provide for the ongoing growth of the current product streams. The new expansion will add an additional 6,700sq. meters to the …

BECKMAN Coulter intends to expand its operations in O’Callaghan’s Mills by creating a further 105 jobs, as it becomes a second European manufacturing site for one of its medical products. The California-based medical diagnostics company, which manufactures biomedical testing instrument systems, announced plans in 2014 to close its Galway facility, resulting in job losses and a relocation of some staff to the Clare-based plant. However, following announcements last year that it intended to increase its workforce by 80 personnel in Clare, it has now confirmed that it intends to generate a further 105 jobs at the site. Speaking to The Clare Champion, a spokesperson for the company outlined that this expansion is due to growth in one of its product lines, which is called Urinalysis. “This is a secondary manufacturing site for a product called urine test strips, which are used in instruments that detect abnormalities in the urine that might signal that the person has an illness, such as …

Four houses were completely cut off at the weekend when flood waters rose rapidly at Doorus in O’Callaghan’s Mills. One of the families affected were Martina and Rory Moloney who have 10-year old twins, Caoimhe and Jack. The family, who were forced to evacuate their home, have been promised temporary accomodation in O’Callaghan’s Mills by Clare County Council. Out pictures how the Swift Water Flood Response Team from Clare Civil Defence moving the family and some of their possessions out by boat on Tuesday afternoon. For an extensive interview with Mrs Moloney see page 17 of this week’s Clare Champion. [doptg id=”88″]      

Attendances at hurling and football championship games to date have, for the most part, been disappointing but an improvement is expected this weekend as it gets to the business end of the season. Four quarter-final places remain to be filled in both the senior and intermediate hurling. While there is much to look forward to in each of the four senior games, the clash of neighbours Inagh-Kilnamona and Kilmaley on Saturday evening is expected to be the top attraction. At whatever grade these clubs have played each other over the years, they have rarely failed to provide plenty of talking points. They have both had a lot of success at underage levels and this is particularly true of Kilmaley, who have won minor A and U-21 A titles in recent years. Many of the players who featured in those wins are now filling key roles at senior level. Champions Cratloe know there are no second chances from here on. Already …

EAST Clare councillor Joe Cooney is pressing the National Monuments Service to change its guidelines on buffer zones around archaeological finds. Kiluran Cemetery Committee has just been refused permission to extend Kiluran Cemetery in O’Callaghan’s Mills due to a discovery of “significant archaeological features” at the site. The National Monuments Service is willing to allow the extension but only if there is a 75m buffer zone and that would bring the extension out of the committee’s land and into another landowner’s property. Councillor Cooney said it looks to be the end of plans to extend the cemetery but will press for a change in guidelines nationally. This week, Clare County Council refused the application for the extension to the more than 100-year-old cemetery on the grounds that, “it is considered that to permit the proposed development would injure or interfere with the historic remains and setting of the adjoining archaeological monuments”. “It’s very, very disappointing,” said Councillor Cooney. “We’re not …

EIGHT hunting dogs were shot dead in Broadford on Wednesday, following attacks on sheep on two farms. Clare dog warden, Frankie Coote has told The Clare Champion that the beagles and cross bred dogs were hunting under supervision but broke away and attacked sheep, killing two and injuring several more. “More than likely a deer brought them through the land and once they came on the young lambs,  this is the height of lambing season. Even supervised if they come on a deer, it can bring them anywhere. That’s what we believe happened. There are a lot of deer in O’Callaghan’s Mills and Broadford. The owner was with them when they lost them. This is unusual for hunting dogs to do this but all dogs will do it,” Mr Coote explained. “There was two farms. One farmer was alerted and he went to his farm. Four of them were shot attacking the sheep. Then they went up to check the …

Beckman Coulter, the biomedical testing company, has announced it is to close its Galway facility transferring production to other facilities, with the largest component moving to its plant in County Clare. The Galway facility, where Beckman Coulter have been operating for 42 years, employs 140 people. Between 70 and 80 of the jobs based in Galway are expected to transfer to Beckman Coulter’s facility in O’Callaghan’s Mills. In a statement issued by the company Beckman Coulter says it expects to offer incentives to encourage its existing associates to accept positions in Clare. “The Galway production will be phased out over the next 12 to 15 months and the facility is expected to close by the end of 2015,” a spokesperson for the company said. Beckman Coulter has been in County Clare for the past nine years, having acquired the diagnostics business of Olympus corporation. By Carol Byrne