Tag Archives: shannon

APPROXIMATELY 150-200 people attended a protest outside Shannon Airport last night, against the implementation of a ban on immigration to the US from seven Muslim majority countries and the use of Shannon by the US military. While the protest was peaceful, a minority of protestors did engage in verbal abuse of Gardai particularly after the demonstrators were prevented from entering the airport. This was by far the largest demonstration at the airport in recent years, the turnout more striking when one takes into account the wintry conditions. A small number of Syrians were among the protestors, refugees who have been resettled in Newcastle West, Co Limerick. The demonstrators began assembling beside the roundabout closest to the airport before 6pm, with a noticeable police presence there also. The crowds were then addressed by a number of speakers, all of whom were critical of Trump and the restriction on US immigration. Some also hit out at the continued use of the airport …

In an  eventful early morning (Monday), Coast Guard helicopters conducted off shore operations to evacuate fishermen from two different vessels. The Shannon based helicopter R115 was tasked to evacuate a fisherman from a fishing vessel working approximately 120 miles West of Kerry Head. The casualty was transferred to University Hospital Limerick by the Coast Guard helicopter. The Waterford based helicopter R117 was tasked to assist a fishermen who suffered an on-board injury and was transferred by the Coast Guard helicopter to University Hospital Waterford. Medical advice for the two operations was provided to the Coast Guard by MEDICIO Cork based in Cork University Hospital A&E section.

TRAGEDY struck last night as a young girl reportedly died following an emergency landing at Shannon Airport. An Air Canada flight from Toronto to London made the unscheduled stop at Shannon at 7.41pm after the child had been taken ill on board and given medical attention. While the girl was rushed to hospital, she was reported dead some time later.

OVER the last decade, Clare has received very little Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but that is likely to change in the next two years, according to Shannon Group CEO, Matthew Thomas. Mr Thomas, who was appointed in May, said there is now plenty of interest in investing in the Mid West, with results likely to be seen in 2017 and 2018. At the launch of the upgraded Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Mr Thomas noted, “In my short time as CEO, there have been some very exciting enquiries. It is an uncertain world we are living in with Brexit and global political events at the moment. People are a bit nervous but we would be very hopeful that there is more FDI coming, if not in 2017, in 2018.” While Shannon Group has a large property portfolio right across the Mid West, the Free Zone is its top priority for now. “I think our immediate focus is on developing the …

SHANNON singer/songwriter David Hope has a new seasonal release, Christmas Day, which will be heard all around Europe in the coming days. The song takes up the common theme of struggling to get home to loved ones for Christmas, with a rather robust pop-oriented sound. It comes with a funny and entertaining video, which was shot in Lahinch. Christmas Day was chosen as the RTÉ Radio One song, selected for the European Broadcasting Union Christmas Music Project and will feature on a playlist across all member states. The single will also feature on RTÉ Radio One’s Christmas Playlist 2016 and a number of stations in Germany and Austria. David says, “I suppose I didn’t intentionally sit down and write a Christmas song; it just kind of happened that way. The song kind of led me to write it and I kind of went with it. It kind of took on a life of its own really. It took a turn …

Some €380,000 has been earmarked for local improvement schemes in Clarecastle, Kilkee, Scariff and Shannon from the €10 million national kitty. Each of the four Clare projects will receive €95,000 to finance a wide range improvements that have been put forward by local community groups to make their towns and villages more attractive places in which to live and work. In Clarecastle, the funding will be used to put electric and phone cables underground, replace lighting columns, provide lighting for public spaces, redesign traffic dominated spaces, upgrade footpaths and crossings, as well as planting and painting throughout the village. The €95,000 allocated to Kilkee will be used for landscaping and to provide public art at Percy French Green and the Carrigaholt roundabout. Scariff will benefit from work on safety and access to the access to public areas while the allocation to Shannon will go towards delivering the Shannon Town Green Infrastructure Plan. “We are determined to get this funding delivered …

JUST 24 people have ever flown to the moon and one of the exclusive club was in Shannon last Thursday, where he spoke to children at St Aidan’s and St Caimin’s national schools. Al Worden was command module pilot on Apollo 15 in July 1971, alongside commander Dave Scott and lunar module pilot Jim Irwin. During his time in space, he entered the record books as the most isolated human being ever, at times being 3,600km away from his companions. Addressing children at St Aidan’s National School, he said that one of them could be among the first humans to go to Mars, if they persist with education. “When you get through college, you’re going to be the right age to go to Mars. Some of you may be able to do that and that’s going to be a very cool thing to do. It took me two weeks to go to the moon and come back. Going to Mars …

CRUEL, sickening homophobic violence overshadowed Garrii Bailey’s teenage years in Shannon, but now he is bringing his drag act back to his hometown in November. In the aftermath of last year’s same-sex marriage referendum it is easy to forget how deeply ingrained homophobia was, to the point that violence and verbal abuse aimed at gay people was relatively commonplace, something which often went unremarked upon. But Garrii’s stories of growing up in Shannon during the 1990s shine a light on just how intolerant things were in the quite recent past. “I’m kind of open about speaking about it now because I feel like I’ve got respect for being who I want to be and I feel like I can talk about it. We had our house bricked, egged; my mum’s car got thrashed. I used to have to walk down a boreen to get home and I’d be petrified. I even walked through it the other day and I was …