Tag Archives: Pat Daly

THE brakes have been pulled by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on a proposal to install a right turning lane at an Ennis junction despite residents being “in fear of their lives”. The need for a traffic island to accommodate traffic coming from the Ennis side heading to West Clare and reinstatement of a hard shoulder at Kilmorane was highlighted at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Councillor Pat Daly stated that this junction is close to six residential houses and a business with a “serious health and safety issue there”. He stated that residents are “living on their nerves every day” describing the route as “very, very dangerous”. He added that the new business has seen the creation of 10 jobs, and a right turn is essential in ensuring its sustainability. However, John Gannon, senior executive engineer replied, “The TII have inspected and reviewed this junction and have assessed that the traffic movements do not validate a right …

A HOUSE which has been derelict for decades in Ennis has been described as a “blight”, while calls have been made for a return to two-way traffic at Upper Cusack Road. Councillor Mark Nestor, speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, branded the current road system as “dangerous” with traffic not stopping at the yield sign. “This is a very, very serious matter”. Responding to the motion, Ian Chaplin, acting senior executive engineer stated, “The installation of the one way system at this location was to facilitate safe passage of pedestrians and cyclists when the Greenway route was installed a number of years ago. The width available did not allow for a two way carriageway and path. To revert to a two way carriageway within the available space would require the removal of the cycle path which would leave an unsafe situation for pedestrians and cyclists. Alternatively if land acquisition was pursued here extra width could be …

TWO former mayors of Ennis are at odds over plans for the development of a shop in the Turnpike area of the town. Planning permission has been granted by Clare County Council to Geltec Retail Limited for an off-licence to be installed at the shop formerly owned by the O’Dowd family. Former mayor of Ennis, Michael Guilfoyle objected to the plans to change the use of the existing convenience shop to include an off-licence of 22m2. However, another former mayor, Councillor Pat Daly, has come out in support of the plans, which he has described as a “great boost for the Turnpike”. Councillor Daly made representations to the county council in favour of the proposal during the planning process. Speaking after the decision to grant permission, subject to five conditions, Councillor Daly stated, “I welcome the granting of planning permission. This will allow the shop to upgrade. The O’Dowd family had traded in this store for 40 years, offering a …

Ennis was represented at the funeral of Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on Friday by Councillor Pat Daly, outgoing Mayor of Ennis and Gerard Dollard, interim chief executive of Clare County Council. During his visit to the Clare County Capital in September 2009, Muhammad Ali was named the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis in recognition of his career achievements and his ancestral links with the Clare county capital. Thousands of people filled the streets of the town during the visit. Ali’s ancestor Abe Grady emigrated from County Clare to the United States in the 1860s. He eventually settled in Kentucky, where he married an African-American woman. Their son also married an African-American and one of the daughters of that union was Ali’s mother, named Odessa Lee Grady. She married Cassius Clay, senior, and they settled in Louisville, where their son was initially given his father’s name on his birth in 1942. During Friday’s memorial service, Mr Dollard and Councillor …

Independent Councillor Ann Norton is the new Mayor of Ennis. She was unanimously elected at this week’s annual general meeting of the Municipal District Committee of Ennis. Councillor Norton was elected to Clare County Council for the first time in 2014 and succeeds Fianna Fail’s Pat Daly in the role. Councillor James Breen (IND) has been elected deputy mayor in place of the outgoing deputy mayor, Mary Howard, Fine Gael. Mayor Norton, in her acceptance speech said, “It is a great honour for me to hold this office in a year that will see Ennis host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time since 1977. This is a huge occasion for the town and the entire county. “As mayor I also looking forward to supporting the various community initiatives and cultural projects that will be taking place over the next 12 months, including plans for the new flagship County Library project in Ennis. Another key priority of mine will be …

THE newly elected Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District, Councillor Pat Daly, has expressed his gratitude for the vote of confidence placed in him by the councillors of the district. The Ennis native said he was proud, grateful and humbled at his election, which was unanimously agreed by his colleagues at the annual general meeting of the district council. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy nominated her Fianna Fáil colleague to be mayor, seconded by independent councillor Ann Norton and supported by councillors Mary Howard, James Breen, Paul Murphy and the outgoing mayor, Johnny Flynn. Councillor Tom McNamara sent his apologies for not being able to attend the AGM, as he is recovering from an operation at present but he also supported his Fianna Fáil colleague. Councillor Mary Howard was elected as deputy mayor. In his opening address, Councillor Daly noted, “I once had the honour to be named Mayor of Clare but to be named mayor of my own town is …

Seven out of the eight Clare County Councillors elected to the Ennis area will hold the title of mayor over the coming five years, it emerged this week. Fine Gael’s John Crowe, from the Shannon Municipal District, was elected Clare’s first citizen on Friday, after days of negotiations between his party, Fianna Fáil and the technical group made up of independents and the local authority’s only Sinn Féin member. The Sixmilebridge man will be the only Fine Gael mayor of Clare during this council term. However, at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, the only municipal area where the title of the chairperson is ‘mayor’, Fine Gael’s Johnny Flynn was elected as Mayor of Ennis. This is due to the fact that Ennis has a population in excess of 20,000. His fellow Ennis councillors, Independent James Breen and Fianna Fáil’s Tom McNamara, will both hold the county’s first-citizen role during this five-year term. The Mayor of Ennis position will …

Fine Gael councillor, Johnny Flynn is the new Mayor of Ennis.  He was elected to the position at the inaugural meeting of the Ennis Municipal District on Tuesday afternoon. While the position of mayor has been abolished in most towns, it can be retained in towns where the population is in excesss of  20,000. The other council members in the Ennis area include Mary Howard and Paul Murphy of Fine Gael, Tom McNamara, Pat Daly and Clare Colleran of Fianna Fáil and Independents, James Breen and Ann Norton. Councillor James Breen was elected as deputy mayor on the proposal of Councillor Tom McNamara and seconded by Councillor Pat Daly. Mayor Flynn said he was “proud” to be elected as the new mayor for the newly aligned municipal district and said he would be “impartial” and treat its members with respect throughout his term. He paid tribute to his family, who were there to support him at the council chamber, and …