Tag Archives: Pat Keating

CLARE’S links with China stretch back to the early part of the last century, when several people from the west of the county served with the Shanghai police force and in the judiciary. In a week when Clare County Council voted to accept an invitation from the vice-president of Yunnan Province to visit the region in April or May, with a view to building links between the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Stone Forest Geopark (Shilin Geopark), located in the south-west of China, historian Paddy Waldron has told The Clare Champion of the connection between Carrigaholt and Cross to Shanghai, in particular. Pat Keating from Fierd in Cross returned to Ireland from China in 1933 and later donated one thousand pounds for a marble altar in the Catholic church in the village, near his birthplace. He bought Plassey House, known as the White House to University of Limerick students, in 1933. He is thought to have got …

The new Ibec Mid West and Kerry president, Pat Keating has said doing business locally should be less taxing and the Mid West’s local authorities should support local economic growth. In an outline of the commercial rates paid in the region, he said Clare businesses paid €42 million or 39% of the local authority budget. Mr Keating, who is CEO of Shannon Foynes Port Company, was elected for a two-year term at Ibec’s Mid West AGM held in the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick this week. He said, “Businesses are the main source of income for our three local authorities. Commercial rates hit SMEs hardest because they generally represent the four biggest outlay for small businesses, after labour costs and rents. In the Mid West, local business pays €156 million or nearly 29% of the combined budget for region.” The breakdown of commercial rates paid by local business for each authority area in the Mid West is: Limerick: €54 million or …