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Tag Archives: shannon

GALLERY: Shannon breaks the tape on its first ever Parkrun

SHANNON had its first ever Parkrun last Saturday morning, with scores of people coming out for the occasion.  Parkruns are free community-based, volunteer-led events which take place on a Saturday morning at 9:30am in many countries worldwide – Ireland has over 100 events currently.   Rob Stephen was instrumental in establishing the Shannon one and speaking about the first local event, he said, “The sun was out, the weather was great. We had around 150 people participating and about 15 people volunteering. It went very well, there was a good crowd volunteering. “One woman flew over from London to do it, she stayed locally in a hotel then, she’s a big enthusiast. There was a big crew from the Parkrun in Tralee, a couple came from Naas. “Obviously there was a good few local people too and people came from the other nearby Parkruns.” He said that the crowd won’t be as big this Saturday, but that it is hoped around …

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Swift moves to replace Ó Céidigh, but questions remain

AFTER Rose Hynes’ time as chair of Shannon Group concluded it took more than a year for the Minister for Transport to put in place a replacement, but following her successor Pádraig Ó Céidigh’s resignation last Wednesday, it took a mere six days. On the positive side, the new appointment Conal Henry has experience in aviation having been commercial director at Ryanair, while the fact he has had involvement with the Shannon Foynes Port Company indicates some knowledge of this region. However the fact that someone with the depth of experience and knowledge as Pádraig Ó Céidigh resigned in frustration after less than six months in the role is something that has alarmed many people and leaves serious questions. Some will undoubtedly see the very speedy appointment of a replacement as a move designed to limit the controversy resulting from such a high profile resignation, particularly as the Government moved so slowly prior to the appointment of Mr Ó Céidigh. …

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Red Cross director: ‘It is clear that some of them are distraught’

OVER 150 Ukrainian refugees had arrived at Shannon by last Monday, having had to flee their homes and leave their old lives behind. Aiden Lonergan is National Director of Community Support for the Irish Red Cross, and is also a Garda Sergeant, based in Ennis. Speaking about the work of the Red Cross with the refugees here he said, “Our response in Clare is primarily focused around Shannon Airport. People are arriving in there and as they arrive Red Cross members are providing them with basic support. “They land in Shannon, there are three to five Red Cross members there for when the flights arrive and we try to give them basic supports in terms of tea, coffee, fruit, basic food items, personal hygiene items, children can get bubbles, colouring pencils, cuddly toys, that kind of thing.” How are the people when they arrive here? “I suppose like many people after a very long and difficult journey, some of them …

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Shannon season set for take-off as key routes resume

THIS Sunday the 7.40am Shannon-Heathrow flight will resume, marking the full restoration of the crucial London services. The following day the Shannon-Newark service will also return after almost two years, with flights set to operate seven days a week. Ryanair services to Palma and Malta are also beginning on Sunday, with the airport’s summer schedule kicking in. Shannon currently offers 26 destinations including options to Budapest, Corfu, Marseille, Barcelona, Faro, Lanzarote and Edinburgh and more. The full resumption of the Heathrow service is very welcome news for Shannon, as the London airport is one of the most significant global hubs, offering onward connectivity to a huge range of destinations. While Shannon has connectivity to other London airports, the Heathrow service is much more important to local tourism interests and Ennis hotelier Sean Lally said that its return is hugely welcome. “It’s probably the most important route in and out of Shannon Airport. Not alone is it a hub for the …

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Frustration led to Ó Céidigh departure from Shannon Group

LESS than six months ago aviation entrepreneur Pádraig Ó Céidigh was appointed chairman of the board of Shannon Group to widespread approval, but he resigned on Wednesday due to mounting frustration. When approached on Wednesday Mr Ó Céidigh declined to comment following his sudden exit after such a short period of time, but other sources have said he was quite disillusioned. It is understood that there were differences of opinion between the new chairman and other senior figures attached to Shannon Group, all of whom were in place before his appointment. One person said that Mr Ó Céidigh felt he was “frozen out” since his appointment and was having difficulty pursuing changes that he felt were important for Shannon. Mr Ó Céidigh was only appointed in late September of last year, and while he was clearly enthusiastic at the outset, his tenure has proved to be an extremely short one and yet again the process of finding a replacement must …

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GALLERY: Shannon St Patrick’s Day parade ‘the biggest ever’

FOR the first time since 2019 the people of Shannon were able to come out to see their town’s St Patrick’s Day parade. Derek Clune of the Love Shannon Community Council said that it had been a great success. “I think it was the biggest parade we’ve had in Shannon and the biggest turnout of spectators and floats that we’ve ever had. “It was a brilliant day and everything went so well. Everyone was really happy and we got some brilliant feedback. Everyone enjoyed the day, the weather was lovely, so it all went well.” He said that there was far greater interest given the restrictions that dogged life over the last few years. “There’s no doubt about it, there was a huge amount of interest because of the last two years. Because of that the turnout was bigger than normal, we were expecting that. Everyone was mad to go, the turnout was huge, bigger than we expected and I’d …

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Pádraig Ó Céidigh set to leave Shannon Group

IT is understood tonight that Pádraig Ó Céidigh is set to leave the position of Chair of the board of Shannon Group, just six months after his appointment. When he was appointed last autumn it was seen as a hugely positive development for Shannon Airport, with the Galway man having a wealth of experience and a history of success in the aviation sector. However it now appears that his tenure will prove to be a very short one, and the search for a chairperson will have to begin all over again. A former Senator, Mr Ó Céidigh once remortgaged his house to purchase Aer Arann, before massively expanding the airline. At the time of his appointment, he described chairing Shannon Group as “probably the most challenging job in Irish aviation.” When Mr Ó Céidigh took the position it had been vacant for some time, following the end of Rose Hynes’ tenure.

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Aer Lingus unrepentant over cabin crew base closure

MORE than 80 jobs were shed at Shannon Airport in May of last year, when Aer Lingus closed its cabin crew base. The job losses were hugely controversial as the airline were major beneficiaries of State supports, but speaking at the relaunch of its transatlantic services, Aer Lingus Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty was unrepentant. “You don’t need me to remind you how challenging it has been over the last two years for the aviation sector and all of us who work in it. In Aer Lingus we had to take some difficult decisions, including the closure of our cabin crew base here in Shannon Airport. That was unfortunately necessary, it meant we had the right structure and cost base to reinstate our transatlantic services, starting today with Boston.” Shannon-New York was due to restart the following day, and Mr Moriarty said that there is going to be a very good level of connectivity to America. “Both routes will …

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