Tag Archives: shannon

WEST Clare will see the most extensive security operation in its history next week, when President Donald Trump arrives in Doonbeg. An area close to Trump International will be completely closed off to the public, apart from people living in the area, who will have special passes. The restrictions will be in place from Monday until Trump leaves again, probably on Friday, but possibly as late as Saturday. There will be a huge security operation at Shannon also, but it is expected that it will be largely business as usual at the airport, although people arriving there at certain times may have to take a short detour. Companies in the Shannon Free Zone are expected to stay open throughout. Detective Garda Ollie Downes said there will be traffic restrictions on access to the entrances to Trump International and only those who have been granted passes (such as residents and care staff) will be granted access. Some distance further back there …

ELECTION counts often provide a few hours’ entertainment for the casual visitor, but they can be hellish for the candidates and those close to them. Last Sunday evening will surely never be forgotten by Gerry Flynn as he was announced as winner three times, but on two occasions recounts were sought, meaning a long and difficult evening for the Miltown native, who has made his home in Shannon and represented the town for many years. While he shook hands with Garret McPhillips after the initial recheck, there was no handshake between the two after the final outcome. Speaking this week, Councillor Flynn said that at that stage he was quite drained by the process. He was clearly irritated by the fact that Mr McPhillips had sought the recount after the recheck, despite the two having shaken hands. “If I shook your hand and congratulated you, I’d mean it. What’s wrong at all now, is there no substance in a handshake?” Councillor …

THE biggest security operation seen in the Banner County for at least 15 years will begin on June 5, when US President Donald Trump touches down at Shannon Airport. At the moment, details of Mr Trump’s visit are relatively sketchy but it is understood he will meet with Taoiseach Leo  Varadkar at Shannon Airport on June 5, spend the night at Trump International in Doonbeg, fly to France for D Day Commemorations on June 6, return to Doonbeg that evening and depart from Shannon Airport on June 7. Garda sources confirmed to The Clare Champion on Wednesday that it will be the most significant undertaking in Clare since George W Bush’s visit in June of 2004. However, on that occasion, they had months of notice, whereas the Trump visit was confirmed just a fortnight before his arrival. It is understood that extra gardaí from other parts of the country will have to be brought in to assist during the visit. …

MORE than one-third of Shannon’s passengers last year were people going to or coming from London. New figures from the CSO show that Heathrow was Shannon’s busiest route in 2018, with 276,236 travelling to and from what is one of the world’s greatest hub airports. Another 203,000 travelled to and from Stansted and another 117,326 to and from Gatwick. That adds up to 596,562 travelling between Shannon and London. Overall, Shannon had 1,677,661 passengers over the course of 2018, meaning 35.5% of the passengers were going to and from London. With another 85,000 travelling to and from Manchester, it is very clear that a relatively good outcome for Brexit is very important for Shannon. While the CSO figures for Shannon are somewhat different from others released earlier this year, this is because these statistics do not include passengers on transit flights. The busiest transatlantic route was New York, with more than 118,000 travelling to and from JFK. January and February …

SHANNON historian Gearóid Ó Faoleán’s book A Broad Church – The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1969-1980 has just been published and has provoked a huge media reaction north of the border. The 31-year-old is a past pupil of St Patrick’s Comprehensive and is now based in London. He is getting married next month. Obviously, his home town has a very large northern population, while his own mother arrived from Belfast in the early ’70s, as the Troubles raged. The subject of Republicanism in the south really came into focus for Gearóid when he was a history student based in Limerick. “When I was in Mary Immaculate College, I was studying history and we had to do a final year project. What I looked at was the settlement in Shannon from the North, the push and pull factors and why they ended up here. It’s easy to see why they left the North but I looked at how …

A 20-year-old Limerick man, has appeared before Ennis District Court this morning charged with the murder of Limerick man Jamie Higgins at a Shannon nightclub in March 2018. Nathan O’Neill who is of no fixed abode, but previously of Hilltop Drive, Dooradoyle, County Limerick, is charged with the murder of 23 year old Jamie Higgins on March 18, 2018 at the Shannon Knights licensed premises Tullyvarraga, contrary to Common Law. He is further charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Michael Shannon contrary to section 4 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, and with assault causing harm to Mr Shannon both on the same date at the same location in Shannon. Detective Sergeant Kevin O’Hagan gave evidence of arresting Mr O’Neill on the three charges and told the court he made no reply following each charge. Free legal aid was granted to the accused man and his solicitor Turlough Herbert asked for a ruling in …

BUS Éireann services at Shannon have been very poor in the recent past, with buses sometimes not coming at all, but management have promised improvements are on the way. At this week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District members, a deputation from Bus Éireann attended and were told in no uncertain terms that local service users have had serious problems. Sinn Féin’s Councillor Mike McKee said that he has had numerous messages from local people about the standard of service. While he said there have been many efforts to get people to use public transport, for these to succeed, the services “must be efficient, punctual and affordable and it is none of those”. Regarding affordability, he said what Bus Éireann offers is far too expensive. “It’s absolutely ridiculous, the price of it. It’s over €10 return from Shannon to Limerick and back.” An equivalent journey on the continent would be far less pricey, he added. Councillor McKee said that what he …

  In this weeks Champion Report we discuss the sad passing of HPV vaccine campaigner Laura Brennan, the stepping down of Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas, an unusual confession practice which had been operating in Cratloe, and our special guest this week is Shannon resident but Derry native, Charlie Morrison who discusses Bloody Sunday. https://soundcloud.com/clarechampion/championreport8