Tag Archives: shannon

THREE young Clare people, two males and a female, have faced an online backlash after a video was posted in which racist language was used. The video, which is just a few seconds long, has been shared widely on social media in recent days. The two males involved posted messages on social media subsequently, in which they apologised for their conduct. St Caimin’s Secondary School in Shannon posted a message on its Twitter account subsequently, in which it distanced itself from the behaviour seen on the video. “We have been made aware of a video in which a group of young people use an abhorrent racial term. “In St Caimin’s, we teach our students about the hurt and harm caused by such language. Racism is not tolerated in our school and we are committed to upholding our anti-racist ethos.” However, a number of people, some of whom said they were past pupils, subsequently replied to criticise the school, while some …

COUNCILLOR Pat McMahon has been elected as the new Cathaoirleach of the Shannon Municipal District. The veteran Newmarket representative was proposed by Councillor PJ Ryan and seconded by Councillor John Crowe this afternoon. There were no other nominees and he was elected unopposed. Councillor Ryan said that he possesses “vast knowledge and experience” and will perform well in the role, while Councillor Crowe described him as a “great character” while noting he is the second most long-serving councillor in Clare. Councillor Crowe was unanimously elected as Leas Cathaoirleach.

SPORTING nostalgia has certainly been popular throughout the pandemic, with All-Ireland finals and World Cup ties being broadcast on various channels. On a very local level, Wolfe Tones have been putting footage of old club games online every Sunday evening and it has proven very popular. Club officer Paul Hogan has led the initiative and said, “With the fact the GAA was gone, we just wanted to add something. Our aim too was to preserve as many Wolfe Tones games as we could. We’ve tried to cover all four bases of ladies’ football, camogie, hurling and Gaelic football. We’re fairly eating through them over the last few weeks. If there’s anyone in the county with old Wolfe Tones games, we’d be delighted to get them up on YouTube.” Many of the games shown have finished with Wolfe Tones hoisting silverware. “It has been mostly finals but the first game was a Munster semi-final against Patrickswell. Because it was on in …

Several libraries across the county reopened this morning in accordance with Phase 3 of the revised Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. They include De Valera Library in, Ennis and those in Kilrush, Kilkee, Miltown Malbay, Ennistymon and Shannon. Other libraries will be opening shortly once the necessary preparatory work has been completed with update on the Clare County Library website and social media pages. Libraries will provide limited services initially, including limits on the numbers accessing the facility at any one time. Libraries will operate in compliance with current physical distancing guidelines and the public are encouraged to use hand sanitisers upon entry to library buildings. Library visits will be of a maximum 15 minutes’ duration and services will include borrow and return of books, printing facilities, delivery service for those cocooning, online services and children’s services including the 2020 Summer Stars programme. The contact and collect service will continue in the other branches and will commence in a …

IN Clare, we are rarely at the top of the political or business agenda. This is a peripheral county, the kind of place that advocates of the neo-liberal economic approach of recent years are happy to sacrifice. As the Mid-West’s manufacturing industry was being lost to low-wage economies 10 years ago, we were told it was just the natural order of things and to suck it up. When tech giants go to our capital, rather than to the Clares and Kerrys, we’re told something similar. When previous broadband plans were shelved, it certainly was not a serious problem and as our airport declines, people like departing Transport Minister Shane Ross would find it almost preposterous that Government be required to do something about it. Just over 70,000 people travelled between Shannon and Newark in 2019, many of them high-spending American tourists. This helped keep Clare’s tourism sector going, allowed people to pay mortgages, put shoes on children’s feet and enabled …

THERE are concerns being raised about the future of Shannon Airport, as it lost a key transatlantic route at the weekend, which local tourism businesses say will affect them badly. United Airlines operated a Shannon-Newark service from April to late October and while it had been suspended for this year, it was expected it would resume in 2021. However, that will not be happening. It is another body blow for Shannon, which had been hopeful of a positive 2020, up until Covid-19 struck. Although in the state of New Jersey, Newark is just a few miles outside of New York City and the United route was an important factor in bringing thousands of American visitors to this part of Ireland. On Saturday, Shannon Group chief executive Mary Considine sent an email, which has been seen by The Clare Champion, to the newly-formed Oireachtas cross-party group on Shannon, in which she appealed for Government support. “We were aware that they [United] …

ON Wednesday as a result of routine operations, Revenue officers seized two packages containing Kratom at Shannon Airport. The first package contained over 0.5kg of the controlled drug in loose powder form and had an estimated value of €10,400. The package originated in Austria and was destined for an address in Tipperary. The second package contained two 1kg vacuum packed blocks of Kratom and had an estimated value of €40,600. The package originated in Luxembourg and was destined for an address in Mayo. Investigations are ongoing. These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing work targeting the illegal importation of drugs. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information, they can contact Revenue on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295.

THE lockdown has brought challenges for everyone but there is no doubt that it is much more difficult for some people than for others. A wheelchair user who lives alone in Shannon, Pádraic Hayes is in a vulnerable category, with underlying conditions including cerebral palsy, arthritis and diabetes. When one hears about the difficulties that teenagers have in not going out or grandparents in not holding small children, Pádraic’s situation puts things into a greater context. “It’s ok, I’ve been confined to the house. I normally attend the Dulick centre in Ennis and I miss that. I’m also heavily involved with the Irish Wheelchair Association and I’m getting a lot of support from the two of them.” He says that he gets dinners delivered from the Dulick centre and they call him also, while the Irish Wheelchair Associations deliver packs with things like word-searches, quizzes and puzzles to keep his spirits up.These days he rarely leaves the house, with his …