Tag Archives: shannon

IN 2015 political concerns about the sale of the State’s share in Aer Lingus to IAG were addressed in part by a commitment from the new owners to keep Shannon-Heathrow connectivity in place until September 2022. However that is now just around the corner, and while there hasn’t been very much discussion about the issue publicly, there is real concern about the future of the Heathrow slots, which are absolutely vital for Clare tourism and the many multinational companies in the Mid-West.  “There is still a great concern that they will go. There’s no doubt that there are people using them, but the fact of the matter is the slots can be used for any route and there could be other routes that could give a better yield,” said Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan this week. “That has always been a concern and we were seeking guarantees previously on that, which of course amounted to what we got. You’d have to …

THE Board of Management of St Aidan’s National School has sought planning permission for a significant extension to the educational facility. Permission is being sought for two special educational needs classrooms and another mainstream classroom, along with ancillary accommodation, a mainstream classroom and associated circulation space. A document prepared by Quinn Architects accompanying the application said that three proposed options were considered before the preferred option was identified. The document stated, “Having evaluated alternative options, in collaboration with the School Authority and the Department of Education, of locating the proposed new building to the north of the existing building, the agreed conclusion was that these options did not achieve all of the desired design criteria. “We then looked at the options of locating the building in the green field area to the west of the existing school which is zoned Open Space.”  It added, “This proposal has a logical extension of the existing main circulation spine to the left of …

LIVE entertainment is back and the Shannon Summer Music Festival took place in the Town Park on Saturday, offering entertainment to young and old throughout the day. Organiser Chris Walshe was happy with the event, despite some less than ideal weather. “It was great, despite the weather we still had a good turnout. We had a very good turnout early in the day for the children’s entertainment, we had face painting, balloon modellers and the kiddie’s discos. We got a bad bout of rain for an hour or two, but people drifted back then for the live music. “For a finish we probably had 150 and 200 out in the Park. Everyone was there enjoyed it, the musicians were delighted and it was nice to have the opportunity to have a big production like that in Shannon and to show off the Park as a venue.” It featured a number of local musicians and he said the day was the …

LAST month was the third warmest May on record in Ireland, and Shannon saw the highest temperatures in the country during it. Shannon had an average temperature of 13.1 degrees celsius for the month, the highest of all the Met Éireann weather stations  in Ireland. It also had the highest temperature recorded in Ireland, when the mercury reached 21 degrees on May 28. Rainfall in Shannon was 20% below average for the month, while there were 175.8 hours of sunshine, just below the town’s long term average.  The Met Éireann summary of the month said, “May was a warm, relatively dry month overall, with the airflow mostly between southerly and westerly. “High pressure to the south and east of Ireland dominated at times, interspersed with periods where low pressure to the west and north west brought bands of rain or showers across the country.  “The first week saw frontal rain in the South and East at first, followed by drier …

THE Shannon Summer Music Festival will take place on this Saturday, June 11, in the Town Park.  It is being organised by Chris Walshe and he said there will be something for all age groups on the day. “It starts at 2pm and from 2-6pm we’ll have children’s entertainment. We’ll have face painting, balloon modellers, kiddies disco and we’ll have a DJ. From 6pm on it’ll be live music on the main stage in the Park.” All of the acts during the evening are local. “First up we have the Kirby brothers, then we have Adam Moloney, then we have a band called North of Fortitude, then we’ve a band called the Mangled Badgers. “The last band then, the headliners, is a band called Sticky September. You might know the bands One September and Sticky Fingers. The two of those are joining forces for the evening.” It is the first major outdoor event in the town for several years and …

ALL week, news reports have been highlighting the crisis at Dublin Airport, where more than 1,000 people missed flights last Sunday. Around Clare there is little sympathy for an airport which is seen as having pursued a fairly aggressive policy of targeting the traffic of its smaller competitors. Many people are saying they won’t fly from the capital again, happy to  holiday from whatever destinations Shannon has available at the time. To test the ease of using Shannon, the Clare Champion simulated the experience of a passenger catching a flight scheduled for departure to the UK at 3.15pm on Wednesday afternoon. The first step involved driving to Shannon and after leaving Ennis at 1.19pm, we turned off the engine in Shannon 21 minutes later.  While people who only fly from Shannon might not fully appreciate it, the fact of not hitting any red lights in the miles up to the airport and effectively having no congestion to deal with is …

NEITHER the Ennis nor Shannon areas currently meet the required criteria for them to be designated Rent Pressure Zones, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has told the Dáil. Clare TD Cathal Crowe asked the Minister if he would consider a rollout of rent pressure zones to include centres such as the two Clare towns. Explaining how areas are deemed Rental Pressure Zones, the Minister outlined the specific criteria to achieve the designation. Firstly, if the information relating to the area, as determined by reference to the Residential Tenancies Board Rent Index quarterly report, shows that the annual rate of increase in the average rent for that area is more than 7% in each of at least four of the six quarters preceding the period immediately prior to the date of the Housing Agency’s proposal. Secondly, the average rent for the area in the last quarter, as determined by reference to the information used to compile each RTB Rent Index quarterly report, …

ALREADY one of the county’s largest employers, Ei Electronics is going to be a seven-day operation from this October. It has announced it will have weekend shifts for the first time and says the move is “in order to support increased market demand and employee flexibility”. The shifts will be from 8am to 8pm on both Saturdays and Sundays and the company say there will be jobs for test technicians, production line maintenance and quality inspectors. They also say that the roles may be attractive to third level engineering students. In a statement this week Ei said that it has a lot to offer potential employees. “With double digit growth, and 1,100 employees worldwide, Ei Electronics commands a leadership position globally as a manufacturer of home life safety devices. “Working with one of Ireland’s leading indigenous electronics companies provides a wide array of opportunities and possibilities to grow as well as offering an attractive pay and benefits package. “This means …