Tag Archives: shannon

TD accuses State of having no plan as Aer Lingus’ Shannon commitment runs its course SHANNON Airport’s link to Heathrow could be removed from September of next year, with little sign that the Government has plans to preserve it. The Heathrow link is provided by Aer Lingus, the former State airline, but there is no guarantee that will continue beyond next autumn. In the Dáil Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said that whether Aer Lingus continues with it or not is a matter for the airline. Heathrow is a global hub airport offering connectivity to a massive number of onward destinations, and the fact that Shannon has a link to it (albeit one temporarily suspended due to Covid-19) is vital to foreign direct investment and tourism in Clare and the surrounding counties. In a parliamentary question, Clare TD Michael McNamara asked the Minister to outline actions that have been taken to ensure Shannon-Heathrow connectivity, given that the seven-year ownership of the …

LOCAL authority planners were in conflict over a telecommunications company’s application to extend the height of a mast in Shannon. While an initial planner’s report had recommended giving Eircom Limited planning permission to extend the height of a mast at the Eir Exchange in Tullyvarraga, a subsequent note to the planning file found this would be inappropriate and planning was then denied. Eircom Limited has now appealed Clare County Council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála with a decision due by August 30. A report signed by Ellen Carey on March 25 had recommended giving the green light, subject to a number of conditions. However, a note to the file, signed by planners Garreth Ruane and Helen Quinn on April 1, had a different view. The note states, “I refer to area planner’s report in which a grant of permission is recommended. I have inspected the subject site and surrounds and also note the further information response as received. “Notwithstanding the …

Plans to realise Shannon’s full potential as a cycling-friendly town being developed in partnership A PLAN for Shannon to potentially become the country’s most cycling friendly town is currently being developed, and Senator Róisín Garvey visited last week to help complete a cycling audit of the area. The Love Shannon Community Council, the Leisure Centre, the local cycling club, Shannon scouts and pupils from St Caimin’s were all involved in last week’s initiative. Niamh O’Callaghan of Love Shannon Community Council said efforts to improve local cycling facilities have been ongoing for a couple of months. “It all started from an Active Clare zoom call which Róisín Garvey organised with the Transport Minister a few months ago. Then myself and John Drysdale from the Scouts had a follow up Zoom with Róisín and then we started a cycling campaign, where we sent emails and posters to all the schools and to the Chamber and we asked them to circulate those to …

THE proprietor of a Shannon Chinese restaurant has described how she saw off an armed robber who paid an unwelcome visit. Cindy Lin was seated behind the counter at her restaurant on the night of Saturday, April 17, when the would-be robber made his move at around 10.10pm. “At that time there were no customers here, no orders. I was sitting at the back of the counter, playing with my phone. A young boy came running in, he had a knife and he said ‘give me your f***ing money’ and I saw the knife. I was screaming loud, trying to call the chef in the kitchen. He dropped the knife, I think maybe he was scared too, this was a young boy.” She ran from the scene, while the robber picked up the knife and took off. Two men who had been working in the kitchen, one of whom was her husband, ran after him, but couldn’t catch up. “I …

Owen Ryan reports on an initiative at Saint Caimin’s to bring about a culture of acceptance regardless of sexuality HOMOPHOBIC bullying has cast a dark shadow over Irish secondary schools for many years and blighted thousands of young lives. Name calling, intimidation and sometimes violence against young people who identify as LGBTI+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Intersex) or even suspected of being so, has been widespread in many schools. While the country enthusiastically passed the same sex marriage referendum, has had a gay taoiseach and gay sports stars, discrimination based on sexuality is still a concerning and prevalent issue among Irish teenagers. Given that virtually every year group in every secondary school must have LGBTI+ members, the impact of homophobia on young people can only be seen as hugely damaging. However there are some efforts to fight back against it, and in St Caimin’s in Shannon teachers Cora Guinnane and Chloe Morey are helping to run a group for …

SHANNON Group recorded a loss of €28.2 million in 2020, as the pandemic devastated its aviation and tourism interests. The operating loss was very different from 2019, when there had been an operating profit of €21.6 million. Wage subsidies received by Shannon Group amounted to almost €3.7 million, while overall staff costs fell by over €8 million. Writing in the Shannon Group annual report, CEO Mary Considine reflected on an extremely difficult year. “The collapse of the aviation sector resulted in just over 352,000 passengers using Shannon Airport last year, a 79% decrease on 2019. It is important to note that this full year performance was distorted by a strong start to the year before the impact of the pandemic, with passenger numbers from April to December declining by over 92% compared to the same period in 2019. In addition, our Group experienced a collapse in visitors across our portfolio of heritage attractions, which are heavily reliant on international visitors. …

A DRAFT of the new masterplan for Shannon was shown to local councillors on Tuesday. While there have been numerous plans for the town over the years, they have so far failed to deliver a proper heart to Shannon, while local anger has been bubbling over the last five years about the town’s lack of facilities, the lack of investment in it and the fact it is possibly the only Irish town without a streetscape. One previous plan proposed a light rail system running through the town, but that proposal, along with virtually everything else in that plan, came to nothing. However, hope springs eternal, and Councillor Donna McGettigan said there are things to be positive about in the draft that was shown to the Councillors this week. She said it could see Bóthar Mór become a focus for new development, potentially giving the town a main street for the first time. “Bóthar Mór would be the main focus of …

NEARLY 11 months after submitting an application for planning permission at Shannon, Aldi has provided a response to a further information request from Clare County Council. Despite Clare County Council denying planning permission to Aldi in 2017, (a decision which Aldi unsuccessfully appealed to An Bord Pleanála) the company is bullish about its prospects of getting approval now and a decision is due by May 10. The proposed development would be across the road from the existing town centre, on the northern side of the R471 (Airport Road). In the further information submission, it is claimed that Aldi looked at opening in the existing town centre, but that was not a runner. “The applicant engaged with the owners of the centre twice prior to lodgement of the application to review the potential for inclusion of an Aldi store withn the centre. “Unfortunately sufficient space was not available to accommodate a store with a retail floor area of 1,315 square metres, …