Tag Archives: shannon

Nearly €5m is to be spent on developing 25 new social housing units in Clare, as part of a new nationwide investment programme. Ten homes are being built in Quilty, along with 15 more at Tullyglass in Shannon at a combined cost of €4.75 million. The money forms part of a newly-announced investment programme worth €312 million that seeks to build 1700 new homes throughout Ireland. Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government, Alan Kelly said the first major direct build social housing programme is part of the first phase of  the Government’s social housing strategy. €312 million has been approved which will see an additional 1,700 social housing units come on stream by 2017 with an estimated 3,000 additional jobs in construction created. The projects, which cut across each local authority area, range in size from small numbers of units to projects of over 50 units for some of the Dublin local authorities. Minister Kelly said local authorities …

FIFTEEN year old Shannon girl Alice McGrath is in the final of Teenstars an All Ireland singing competition which will come to a conclusion on May 3. It will be on in the Westgrove Hotel in Kildare and Alice is one of just 32 remaining entrants from 1,200 who entered, meaning she is in the top three per cent. She is the only Clare finalist and the winner will pick up a €5,000 prize. Her mother Martina McGrath told the Clare Champion that Alice has sang a number of songs to reach this stage. ” In the first round she sang an Etta James song. To get through to the All Ireland final she sang I’d Rather Go Blind which is an Etta James song as well and for the final she’s going to sing A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cook.”  

TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace have vowed not to pay €2,000 fines imposed on them at Ennis District Court this evening, after Judge Patrick Durcan found them guilty of offences at Shannon Airport last summer. Asked is she would pay the monies Deputy Daly replied “absolutely not” while the Wexford man replied “You know what, I wouldn’t pay that fine to save my life.” They also say they will not appeal the convictions. The TDs faced charges of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon Airport and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year, contrary to the Airport Byelaws of 1994. Ms Daly said that the two TDs will continue to be active in the campaign against the US military use of Shannon. “Of course we will, yeah. We will absolutely continue in this and we have not intention of paying a financial contribution to a State that allow …

A 13-year-old boy who went missing overnight from his home in Shannon has been located safe and well. His disappearance was noted at 8.20am on Tuesday and gardaí were informed that he had left home at some point during the night. With gardaí concerned for his safety, a search commenced along the estuary. Initially, it just involved gardaí, then the Shannon-based Coastguard helicopter became involved, along with Bunratty Search and Rescue and the fire brigade. Further search and rescue units from West Clare, Killaloe and Limerick were on their way to join the search, but the boy turned up safely at his home shortly after 10am.

A bar man who had worked at a Shannon hotel for well over a decade never returned to his job, after he was assaulted a number of hours after Clare’s 2013 All-Ireland win, Ennis Circuit Court has heard. In a written victim impact statement, Paul Ryan said he would never do the same type of work again, as he wouldn’t feel safe. Brothers Mark Hayes (26) and Sean Hayes (25), who both live at 106 Aidan Park, Shannon, pleaded guilty to charges of assault causing harm at the Oakwood Arms in the early hours of September 29, 2013. Mark Hayes also pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to a bar table. Garda Colm Moriarty told the court that when he arrived at the hotel on the night in question, he met with Mark Hayes, whom, he said, was not wearing a shirt. He claimed that the defendant had been irate and was “roaring and shouting, alleging he was assaulted”. When …

  A FILE is to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions after a veteran peace activist allegedly attempted to approach US military planes on the tarmac at Shannon Airport yesterday morning. The man in question has been very active in the campaign against the US use of the airport and he is a former member of the Irish army. On Saturday morning he was due to travel to the UK to attend a conference organised by the Veterans For Peace organisation. A spokesman for peace group Shannonwatch, with which the man is associated, claimed that he had seen four Hercules aircraft parked close to the runway with no apparent oversighted and felt obliged to inspect them for weapons. The man was detained initially by Airport Police, before the Gardai were called. Shannon has seen a number of similar incidents over the last number of years, including one involving TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace last summer. A case …

Transaero in Shannon has successfully exited examinership this week. The aircraft maintenance specialist exited High Court protection on Wednesday after a three-month examinership succeeded in rescuing the business. In congratulating management and workers, Senator Tony Mulcahy said, “This is a hugely positive story as it secures the future of a significant aircraft maintenance facility, which it will also give confidence to other operators considering investment in Shannon. “It is important that Transaero’s customers and suppliers also be acknowledged for their support for the company. This important Shannon operation can move forward with confidence and I am particularly delighted that job security has now been confirmed for workers there,” he added.

THOUSANDS of people have come from different parts of the country to Shannon Airport today to see the Antonov 225, the world’s largest aircraft. The plane arrived shortly before 3am from Bangor International Airport and will leave again at around 10pm. It’s wing span is greater than the width of the pitch at Croke Park and from nose to tail it is one and a half times the length of an Olympic Swimming Pool. It stands alone as the largest and most powerful jet the world has ever seen. Shannon has one of the longest runways in Europe and it is the only Irish airport the Antonov 225 has ever landed at. Niall Moloney, Shannon Airport Operations Director said the aircraft never fails to amaze. “When you see it on the taxiway here and can put its size into perspective, it’s almost unbelievable that it can get up into the skies, let alone be as graceful when it’s up there,” …