Tag Archives: shannon

“MY personal opinion is that it will be an episode that will get remembered. I don’t know if I’m being a bit brash about it but it had such an impact on me; I left at the end of the meal traumatised. I’m not an easy person to get into that kind of state so if I felt that, I can only imagine what the public will think when they see it on Thursday.” So says Peter McInerney, who lives in Ballycasey Park and works at the Shannon Knights off licence, ahead of this Thursday night’s episode of First Dates on RTÉ. The national broadcaster’s publicity for the show says, “Lorraine (51) from Limerick is seeking a Hollywood leading man in the mould of Orlando Bloom, mixed with Johnny Deep and topped off with The Rock. Is off-licence manager Peter (52) from Clare the action hero to save her love life?” The date has been promoted by RTÉ on the …

THERE will be an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous next Thursday at 8.30pm at St Senan’s National School in Shannon. While almost all meetings of AA are confined to people who have a desire to stop drinking, this is quite different, with anyone welcome to attend. This means it is a chance for someone who feels they could potentially benefit from what AA offers to find out a bit more about the organisation, for anyone who feels a loved one may have a problem or anybody who simply has an interest in finding out about AA. In relation to next week’s event, a spokesman for AA in Clare said, “An open meeting is a public one, open to anyone who wants to walk in. All AA meetings are closed, except for those. Members of the public, press, anyone who wants to attend, can come in. “There are two AA speakers, then an Al Anon member as well, who will give …

WHEN Government ministers or business leaders talk about prioritising what they call STEM, it shows a very one-dimensional view of what Irish education should be. Such a view isn’t particularly concerned with developing people, rather with creating human units of economic activity, but thankfully many people with a more balanced view of young people are active in Irish schools and classrooms. Cora Guinnane is one of them, a woman who serves as chaplain of St Caimin’s in Shannon, and whose enthusiasm for what she does is very obvious. “I love chaplaincy, love it. I really believe in it. I can see the difference it makes to people’s lives. I see the kids at a different level. I would know the kids who might come to school without a breakfast or the kids where there is a bereavement or separation. “There could be addiction, just the kids that are struggling with emotional difficulties, their well-being mightn’t be great or their mental …

ADJACENT to Shannon Airport’s runway, The Honk Bar is in the rural townland of Rineanna in the parish of Newmarket-on-Fergus. John and Mary Quinlivan run the bar, which has been in John’s family for a couple of hundred years. “We’re the eighth generation here; it’s been in the family the whole time. It would be one of the oldest pubs in the country, definitely one of the oldest in Munster.” Born and reared there himself, John’s brother Pat also ran it, before John took over in 2001. “It’s part of the community. The local Community Alert was set up here; the few meetings that are on would be in here,” he says. It may be relatively isolated but its location close to the airport means it is fairly well known, right around Clare and Limerick. John has been around the bar all his life and says the changes in pub culture have been drastic. “When I was a young fella, …

A SUSPECT device that was discovered at the Clean Ireland Recycling premises in Shannon last week, turned out not to be explosive. Gardai confirmed that while the device was taken away and disposed of, it turned out not to be dangerous and there is no suspected offence to further investigate. Owen Ryan

MANY tears of happiness have been shed in the terminal of Shannon Airport over the last week, as loved ones are welcomed home for Christmas. People whose journeys began in Australia, America, the UK and many other countries are all being welcomed back into their families, with almost 73,000 expected to come through the airport over the festive period. George Egan from Inagh was waiting expectantly outside arrivals on Wednesday morning for his London-based son, also called George. Making his way to Shannon to pick up his son had been no chore. “I’m delighted, it’ll be great to see him. The rest of the family are coming tomorrow too.” Young George works in finance in the UK and was glad to be home. “I’m back for a couple of weeks, so I’m delighted with that. It’s good to see him [his father], it’s been a few months since I’ve been back. I didn’t think he’d set this up!” he joked, …

AN Irish Army Bomb Disposal Unit are making their way to Shannon, following the discovery of a suspicious device this morning. The suspicious device was found in a skip at the Clean Ireland Recycling premises in Smithstown. The area has been sealed off by Gardai.  

SOUTH Clare Youthreach in Shannon will close its doors for the last time in the coming days. The Shannon facility had the capacity to accommodate 13 learners at any one time. The service users are people who have left mainstream schools prematurely, for various reasons, and engaged with Youthreach to continue education. Young people aged from 15 to 18 were catered for in Shannon and they will now have to go to Ennis instead. The Shannon closure is an unpopular decision locally, and Councillor Mike McKee said the timing is unfortunate. “I’m very disappointed with the decision. While it had been expected I didn’t expect it’d happen during the middle of the term. It’s very unfortunate for the students that participated in the Youthreach course and I think it’ll have a detrimental effect on them, having to move to Ennis.” He added, “These are teenagers who left second level education for one reason or another. It could have been bullying …