Tag Archives: opw

TOURISM in Ennis has received a boost with the historic Ennis Friary re-opening to the public this week. The friary, which dates back to the 13th century, re-opened on Tuesday having been closed to the public since last summer due to Covid-19 restrictions. And as an extra bonus, admission to the popular attraction is free for the season. Welcoming the announcement, Councillor Mary Howard said it is “great news” for the town. Just last month she criticised the continued closure of the Friary, saying that the town was losing out on potential tourism opportunities. The Friary has been opened with health and safety in mind and Covid-19 guidelines have been put in place. A maximum of 15 visitors are permitted on site at any one time. Social distancing will apply throughout the site. Face coverings must be worn in all indoor spaces. There are self guided visits only, but Ennis Friary guides are on hand to answer any questions. Hand …

A GOVERNMENT minister has pledged that the construction of a new €1.3 million flood relief scheme on the outskirts of Clonlara will ensure scenes of flooded homes will “become a thing of the past”. Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan, has welcomed the approval of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for the proposed flood relief scheme in Springfield, Clonlara. The scheme will involve the construction of a flood protection embankment, land raising, penstock / sluice, pump station and associated works at the townland and surrounding areas of Springfield. The project will protect 18 residential properties and will cost in the region of €1.3 million to build. “I think everybody who has followed coverage of flooding events over the past few years will recall the scenes of flooded homes and distressed residents trying to deal with the aftermath of significant flooding in Springfield/Clonlara. “Now that An Bord Pleanála has approved planning permission for …

MAJOR works to prevent serious flooding in Ennis are now almost complete, OPW Minister Patrick O’Donovan has confirmed. Minister O’Donovan has revealed two of the major elements of the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme, at St Flannan’s College and Ballybeg, are “substantially complete with only minor snagging remaining”. The minister has also accepted an invitation to visit Clare where he is set to explore a proposal to develop a greenway between Ennis and Clarecastle. He said flood works at Clareabbey suffered a delay in recent weeks “due to unforeseen difficult ground conditions”. These difficulties, the minister added, meant the original embankments proposal at Clareabbey had to be redesigned. However, he said this redesign has now been completed and that the additional works are “progressing more rapidly than initially expected” and have “largely been brought back into line with the original programme”. The minister was speaking in response to a parliamentary question from Clare TD Joe Carey. The minister also told …

JOINED up thinking between agencies including the local authority, the ESB and Eir, as owners of the phone infrastructure network, has been called for in the wake of Storm Ellen in East Clare. Addressing the most recent meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, Councillor Pat Burke said the storm had had a far more serious impact on East Clare than had been forecast. “If you were in Ennis, Quin or Tulla,” he said, “you’d hardly have noticed that there had been a storm. But, there was an awful lot of damage in areas around Scariff, Mountshannon and Whitegate.” The Fine Gael member commended the work of council crews, the fire service and local farmers and landowners. “Local people were out helping with chain saws and tractors to open a number of roads,” he said. “We’re very grateful to them and there was a very coordinated approach taken between themselves and the council and the ESB.” In relation to the extensive …

“OUTRAGEOUS flooding” on land and roads in East Clare was discussed with council officials at the most recent meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District. Cathaoirleach, Councillor Pat Hayes tabled a motion proposing a planned programme of drainage works for the River Grainey and its catchment area. “We need to take the bull by the horns on this,” he said. “The river is 40 to 50 miles long and the lack of drainage is now coming home to roost on the roads around Feakle and Tulla, especially around the likes of Derrynahila. I have called previously for a single authority to deal with drainage. Some good work has been done in the past, but not for a long time on the River Grainey. If we don’t act we’ll end up having to raise the roads in places like Ayle, Core and Caher.” The Fianna Fáil members pointed out that the River Grainey is also an important amenity in terms of recreation …

GRAVE desecration and damage alongside ongoing flytipping at one of Clare’s most historic sites has prompted the establishment of a new taskforce. The Clare Abbey Taskforce are due meet for the first time next month and calls are being made for the installation of CCTV cameras at the national monument. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District also heard this week that efforts are being made to have the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to visit Clare Abbey and hear first hand the concerns of locals. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy urged that the council convene the taskforce and adopt measures including CCTV to tackle flytipping which is “continuously being highlighted by the Clarecastle Tidy Towns” and “the ongoing risk of repeated damage and desecration to the graves located within the abbey”. She called on the council to support Clarecastle Tidy Towns request for a “much more thorough” analysis of flytipping material found in Clareabbey …

THE last remaining stone from a 16th century castle in South-East Clare has been cleaned and mounted on stone to display unusual carvings. A carving, initials and a date of 1579 was discovered on a late-medieval carved window-head at the site of Drummin Castle, near Ardnacrusha. The carving was located in the wall of a shed, but was previously covered with several layers of whitewash. The owners of the site, Gerard and Rose Reid decided that the site and stone was so important it should be remembered in some fitting way and they placed the carving on a stone mounting as a display. Martin Breen and Risteárd Ua Cróinín visited the site last December, having previously surveyed the castle remains back in December 2002 as part of the OPW survey of towerhouses and castles in Clare. During the survey in 2002, Mr Breen recalled the then owner, a Miss Long, the aunt of the present owner Gerard Reid, allowed them …

THE Office of Public Works has insisted that plans to re-develop Knockanean National School will alleviate traffic problems outside of the school after concerns about the proposal were raised by the local authority. The Office of Public Works (OPW) submitted a planning application for the re-development of Knockanean National School earlier this year. The plans include the construction of eight new classrooms, with an existing four-classroom block retained and integrated into the new build. Clare County Council sought further information on the new plans, and according to the response the OPW have insisted that just renovating the existing school would not “help in any way in alleviating the traffic ad hoc parking on the main public road”. It points out that the school currently has 11 classrooms and the proposal will result in just one additional classroom. “By moving the location of the building back further in to the site it creates space at the front and in doing so …