Tag Archives: shannon

  THE Shannon Municipal District now has two female representatives and two twenty-something members, after last weekend’s results. There was a feeling in advance that David Griffin and Rachel Hartigan could do well, and both were propelled onto the local authority, having won very large first preferences. With Pat McMahon not running there was a clear opportunity for someone from Newmarket to win a seat, but there was no guarantee that it would be taken.  However once the early tallies came in it was clear that David Griffin had won a very strong local vote, something confirmed when the first count gave him 1534 number ones , well ahead of the quota of 1456. Griffin won 694 of 1013 votes cast at Newmarket on Fergus National School, according to the tallies, while at Stonehall National School, he took 166 out of 249. It was an exceptional performance and he actually ended up with more than 500 first preferences than Pat …

A Fine Gael candidate for Shannon Local Electoral Area who was eliminated on the ninth count has said the community in south-east Clare has been forgotten about by Clare County Council. First time candidate, Val Gillane said he feels south-east Clare is being forgotten about at local level: “I would love to see Clare County Council now wake up and come down and have a look at south-east Clare. South East Clare voted to stay in Clare. Please come down to us and now show us. We are completely forgotten about like we are between two boundaries. We are 2km from Limerick County Council and we are 40km from Clare County Council. We don’t have the representation. We don’t have the funding. We don’t have the back-up. We don’t have any of the basics…I am talking about communities and infrastructure. West of the Shannon Banks was built in 1966 like 1966 footpaths and 1966 lighting…” “I would love to see …

ONE of the great Claremen of all time is the ‘forgotten man’ of Irish history, in the eyes of some. Tim Crowe of the Sixmilebridge Historical Society holds the view that Brendan O’Regan has nothing like the recognition that he deserves, despite having a list of achievements as long as your arm, and having had a seismic influence on the economy of Clare and the surrounding counties. His impact was massive and is wildly underestimated, according to Tim. “In his own way, O’Regan achieved as much as De Valera did, as Lemass did, O’Connell, Parnell, Collins. This guy invented Duty Free, brought Foreign Direct Investment industries, built the town of Shannon, the College of Hotel Management, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, was central to getting McDonough to buy Dromoland and turn it into a five star, he was chairman of Bord Fáilte for 15 years,” he said. “When the Troubles started, he brought Catholics and Protestants together through Co-operation North, …

IZABELA Knotowska has organised a couple of fundraising events for June 1 in aid of her cousin Sara Fodrowska who is battling cancer. Izabela has spent nearly all her life in Shannon but is originally from Poland, where her cousin Sara lives. “She is soon to be 28 and she found out that she had cancer at the age of 23, so she has been battling for a few years now,” said Izabela. “When she went to the doctor she thought it was going to be ovarian cysts, but it turned out that it was stage four ovarian cancer. She went into emergency surgery straight away and she has been fighting it in Poland for more than four years.” To get the treatment she really needs, there is a huge cost. “There have been various chemo treatments, and they would help it, but it comes back and the cancer spreads,” she said. “We started looking outside of Poland for treatment, …

RTÉ has announced that Shannon’s Rachael English will be the new presenter of News at One on RTÉ Radio 1 following the retirement of Bryan Dobson. After 14 years as part of the team of Morning Ireland presenters, she will move to be a permanent presenter on RTÉ Radio 1’s flagship lunchtime radio programme, which has over 300,000 listeners each weekday. Speaking about the move for the first time, Rachael English said: “One of my first jobs in RTÉ was as a reporter on the News at One. It was also where I first worked as a stand-in presenter. I’ve always hoped that one day I’d get to return, so I’m delighted to be doing so now. It feels like coming home. It’s been a privilege to present Morning Ireland, and I’d like to thank the colleagues who have made getting up at 4am bearable. I’m looking forward to working with the fantastic team on the News at One.” Deirdre McCarthy, Managing Director of News …

THREE people were arrested in Shannon earlier today following a planned search of a house. A small amount of drugs were recovered from the property by Gardai. The three individuals are set to appear at a court sitting on Saturday.  

THE capacity at Treacy’s Oakwood Hotel is set to increase significantly, should a new planning application get the green light. Shannon Estuary Hotel Ltd have sought planning permission for an extension to their second floor to accommodate an additional 29 bedrooms, as well as an extension to the first floor to provide another six bedrooms. There will also be alterations to the ground floor, a new lift and the provision of a significant amount of extra parking. A document filed with the planning application says that the reason the extension is being sought is to accommodate coach tours, which it says can deliver a huge amount of new business. “The purpose of the proposed development is to expand the offer of the hotel with specific reference to accommodating coach tours,” the document states. “As can be seen from an attached letter from Abbey Group tour operators, the regional value of coach tours is approximately €2.6 million. “The proposal will result …

Bristow Ireland Limited and the trade union Unite have reached an agreement in preparation for the transition to the next Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) aviation contract, including personnel at Shannon. In August 2023, Bristow signed a contract with the Department of Transport for the provision of rotary and fixed-wing aviation services for the Irish Coast Guard. Bristow will operate six specialised SAR-configured AW189 helicopters from dedicated bases in Shannon, Sligo, Waterford and Weston. In addition to the helicopter service, the new Coast Guard aviation service will, for the first time, also include a fixed-wing aircraft service. The new framework agreement between Bristow and Unite will ensure a smooth transition of specialist helicopter engineers to Bristow. It captures agreed terms and conditions of employment, giving engineers a clear view of their employment with Bristow while also ensuring a process for dispute resolution. The agreement has been accepted by the group of specialist helicopter engineers represented by Unite. They …