Tag Archives: shannon

TALKS on the future of Shannon pharmaceutical company Avara have now been referred to the Workplace Relations Commission. Speaking to The Clare Champion this week, Clare TD Joe Carey said, “The talks are still ongoing, as far as I understand. The union weren’t happy with the consultation period, so it has been referred to the WRC and there will be engagement there between the two parties. “As far as I understand, there was a 30-day period for consultation but there was only maybe 10 days of consultation. They looked for a date with the WRC and they’ve got it. The bigger picture here is that there is a business plan that the workforce have put together. “It’s a viable business plan and it’s based upon actual orders that the company have received to produce product for companies that need it. They’ve based it over a 12-month period to maximise the level of employment.” He said he believes that the plan …

SHANNON Airport was closed to aircraft for four and a half hours this morning, but it could have been much worse but for the fact a fire on board a plane was quickly spotted and extinguished. Director of Operations at Shannon Airport Niall Maloney said that the response began at 6.15am. “We were alerted by air traffic control to an issue with an aircraft that we responded to. We were responding to smoke in the undercarriage but it developed into a fire.” The aircraft in question was an Omni Boeing 767-300 which had travelled from America to Shannon and was due to go onwards to the Middle East. While Omni typically use Shannon to transport troops, there has not been confirmation as to whether or not troops were on board the plane on this occasion. There were 145 passengers and 14 crew on board the aircraft at the time and Mr Maloney said they were all uninjured. “One passenger may …

SHANNON Airport has now reopened following a fire on an Omni Boeing 767-300 aircraft this morning, which resulted in its runway being blocked for a number of hours. In a statement this afternoon, Shannon Group said, “Shannon Group has confirmed that thanks to the swift response of the Shannon Airport emergency services team, the airport reopened at 11.15am after the successful removal of a plane from the runway following an incident earlier this morning. As there has been flight disruption, intending passengers have been asked to contact their airlines. Updates are available on the airport social media channels. We would like to extend our thanks to the IAA (Shannon Tower Business Unit) and our airline partners for their support in the management of the incident.”

WITH Shannon company Avara in provisional liquidation, local county councillor Mike McKee has raised concerns about public safety, given the chemicals stored there and about the level of redundancy being offered to departing workers. On Wednesday, Councillor McKee said, “My understanding is that they are going to keep a skeleton staff there, due to the fact that there are materials in the plant. The materials in the plant are quite significant and could be construed as quite dangerous chemicals. One has to question are the company being responsible on this because of the seriousness of the raw products that are in situ in the plant. They would be left on their own with just a handful of people monitoring them. I do know for a fact that the chemicals are not the most stable.” He questioned if the people currently charged with running the company, as a buyer is sought, are aware of some of the incidents that have happened there …

CURRENTLY based in Scotland, local man Andy Moloney is preparing to cycle from his new home back to Shannon, while raising awareness of autism and funds for groups that help with the condition. “I’m leaving Edinburgh on September 3 and then I have two days cycling in Scotland. Then I get on the ferry to Belfast and then cycle from Belfast to Shannon and that’s three days,” he says. In all, the journey is justunder 850 kilometres. Andy’s seven-year-old son Ellis has been diagnosed with autism, leading Andy to take on the challenge. “I wanted Scotland to benefit because I’m over here but I know seven families in the last 10 or 11 years who have had children with autism. As much as I wanted to do something over here, I wanted to do something in Ireland and Shannon too. I figured the best way to do it was to go from here to Shannon.” Last Saturday Wolfe Tones hosted …

THERE is nothing stronger than the paternal bond and when a child is sick there is an inherent instinct as a parent to do whatever it takes to fight for them. That was never more true for the O’Shaughnessy family in Shannon because it was the most subtle of behavioural and physical changes that led them to Accident and Emergency with their 10 year old son Alex. Their gut instincts told them something just wasn’t right and their persistence to get to the root of it led to the diagnosis of a rare form of cancer, a one in a million case, normally only detected when the condition is at an advanced stage. “The first time we were worried was Paddy’s Weekend [2019]. We went away to Galway for Alex’s twin brothers 21st. Alex wasn’t himself and was tired. He was just misery, we could see he was trying but he physically couldn’t. We took him to Shannondoc the Tuesday …

SHANNON Group got a share of stick at Monday’s meeting with the County Council, but at least one element of it was undue. In his speech to the meeting, Mayor of Clare Cathal Crowe criticised various decisions made, and also claimed that Clare’s local representatives had been ignored at a recent celebration. “It was disappointing that the airport held a significant event just last week to mark the 80th anniversary of its operations and didn’t invite the Chief Executive Pat Dowling, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Chairman of the Shannon District) or myself, as Mayor of Clare, to attend. “Shannon Group must do better to improve its working relationship with this County Council.” However some time later when Acting Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine responded to questions raised by members, she said that there actually had not been a celebratory event to mark the 80th anniversary, although Shannon had used the date to help with its own promotion.   Owen Ryan

THERE will be a Fittest Family style competition held at St Conaire’s National School on this Saturday. Speaking this week, teacher Stephen McNamara explained what is planned. “We’re hosting a fittest family event to mark 50 years of the school being opened. Also, it’s to mark the official opening of the field behind the school. “It’s basically a fun event with a competitive edge and we have 54 families entered. The challenges are kind of in line with the fittest family programme, but they are adapted for the young children. We’re getting a special guest on the evening to come and present the winners with their prizes. Really, we want to highlight the importance of exercise and fitness in the lives of young children growing up.” The teams taking part have to meet certain criteria. “Its basically that there are four members per team, one member must be enrolled in the school, a maximum of two adults per team, one …