Tag Archives: shannon

CLARE professional boxer David Ryan has been nominated for the irish-boxing.com Professional Debut of the Year Award. David is one of five nominated and describing his debut, the irish-boxing.com blurb said, “The Shannon kickboxing convert was thrown straight in at the deep end in November when he was matched with Nicaraguan dangerman Brayan Mairena in Belfast. Ryan rose to the challenge in a fun war and we can’t wait to see him in domestic fights at light welterweight.” David’s professional debut was televised on TG4 and he won on points after a hugely entertaining four rounds. Speaking to the Clare Champion in the aftermath of the fight, he said he hadn’t found it very taxing. “Not at all. The fight was actually fairly easy. The first three rounds I won fairly handily and in the fourth I took the foot off the gas and counterpunched a small bit, let him come and do the work, I didn’t have to chase …

A NEW centre for housing refugees is to be opened in Shannon, despite local elected representatives and residents having been left uninformed about the matter. The OPW confirmed to the Clare Champion that it had made Unit 153 in Shannon Business Park available to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and that it is currently being adapted for emergency accommodation. Prior to Christmas, in a briefing document, Maurice Buckley, chairman of the Office of Public Works said that the OPW “has made a large property in Shannon available to the DCEDIY (Department of Children, Equality, Disability Integration and Youth) which is currently being adapted for emergency accommodation.” After coming upon this the Clare Champion contacted the DCEDIY, but it made no comment. The OPW was also contacted and confirmed that Unit 153 had been handed over. The Clare Champion spoke to Deputy Cathal Crowe on Wednesday afternoon and at that stage he was unaware that a building …

THE difficulty recruiting full time firefighters has the potential to leave the town exposed in an emergency with one councillor calling the situation “alarming”. It is understood that on a recent weekend just four firefighters were available for duty in Shannon. Such low numbers could have meant the service was well below what is required, but arrangements were made to bring firefighters from other areas to Shannon. Councillor Donna McGettigan said it is imperative that the situation improve. “To have so few in a town with an airport and chemical factories, it is very alarming. There must be a lot of stress on the staff too to cover shortages, and they’re under immense pressure.” She said that the reason for the lack of cover goes beyond the Council. “I know they have been trying their best to recruit, but something needs to be done to make sure it is done. I can’t blame them here, they have been trying, but …

SHANNON Municipal District has introduced a new piece of inclusive playground equipment to the Tír na nÓg playground. The Ability Swing is suitable for children who use a wheelchair and it comprises a wheelchair platform and swing frame. The enclosed wheelchair swing is positioned near to the centre of the playground and can be exclusively opened by an independent access key, making it very safe and secure for users. Councillor Michael Begley, Cathaoirleach of Shannon Municipal District, said, “This fully fenced playground is a great choice for children of all age groups and, with the recent addition of the Ability Swing, Shannon Municipal District is very proud of the facility. The provision of high-quality play options is fundamental for all the children using our playgrounds.” This additional piece of playground equipment will enhance the existing play facilities which includes a soft flooring play surface throughout and more than 12 other different pieces of equipment. The playground also incorporates a sensory …

STEEPED in musical heritage, 25-year-old Hazel Park has chased her dream, and is now living it. After spending a few years teaching, she left education to go to London for an MA in Musical Theatre Performance and is starting her first professional role this week, playing Tinkerbell in the pantomime Peter Pan at University Concert Hall Limerick. She told the Clare Champion that Shannon Musical Society has been a big part of her life and her family. “My grandparents actually founded the society, my family have been in it over the years and I joined when I was 18.” Hazel has also been involved with Muse Productions and the Ennis Musical Society, while she was nominated for Best Female Singer in the Association of Irish Musical Societies Awards in 2020. She has always wanted to get into musical theatre as a professional, but didn’t go into it straight after the Leaving Cert. “It was always in the back of my …

A UNIQUE Shannon event last week at which people could have their confession heard while they did their Christmas shopping proved hugely popular. An annual event pre-Covid, the first Mercy on the Mall event since 2019 took place at the Town Centre on Thursday, December 8 and saw a team of priests make themselves available to hear confessions as people did their shopping. Parish priest Father Arnold Rosney said it had been a busy day. “We started the day with a blessing of the crib in front of the Adoration Chapel. It’s a lifesize crib and a lot of people love it, especially kids, who like to go close to it and touch the glass at the front of it. It’s a lovely feature. We had children from St Senan’s school singing festive carols for the blessing. “Then we had Mercy on the Mall from 1pm to 4pm. We had 12 priests and I’m very grateful to those who joined …

A PROTEST regarding the poor state of Shannon bus services was held at the Town Park recently with the promise of more demonstrations to come. Speaking on the day Shane Doody, chairman of Ógra Sinn Féin for Clare said, “Today we are here to voice our anger and our frustration towards Bus Éireann. For far, far too long now, we have been ignored and utterly disregarded both as a community and as customers.” While there have been more complaints about the bus service over the last few months, he says it has never been good enough. “If we are being honest with ourselves, has our bus service ever been fully functional? “For years now we have been struggling with a second tier bus service that is inefficient and unequipped to manage Shannon’s ever growing population – with which Bus Éireann have failed to keep up. “It is high time now that Shannon is equipped with a competent bus service that …

SHANNON weather station has recorded a new temperature record for a November day. On Friday, November 11, the temperature at the Met Éireann weather station in Shannon never dropped below 14.9 degrees celsius. This represented a new November highest daily minimum temperature record for Ireland. It was an exceptionally warm month of November in general at Shannon, well ahead of the long term average for the month. It was also particularly sunny for the time of year, with 71 hours and 36 minutes of sunshine over the course of the month, 21% more than the long term November average. On the negative side, the amount of rainfall for the month in Shannon was 44% greater than the long term average. The Met Éireann report for the month said, “November 2022 was a mild and windy month, dominated by Atlantic low pressure systems to the west of Ireland, with the airflow mostly between southerly and south-westerly. “This set-up steered many tropical …