Tag Archives: USA

ORLA Ní Éilí, co-ordinator of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre in Ennis, has expressed the hope that Donald Trump’s discriminatory views on Muslims, as expressed this week in the US, will not prevent people who practise the faith from being employed at the Trump-owned golf resort in Doonbeg. Trump advocated a total shut down of Muslims entering the US “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”. Ms Ní Éilí said it is imperative that Trump’s views are not reflected in employment decisions made at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland in Doonbeg. “I know that here in Clare, where he is an employer, the people managing on the ground will have no such discrimination in their engagement of staff for the golf resort. If people of any background are the best people for the job, they should get it, irrespective of religion, creed or ethnicity. We need to tell him that he needs to not …

TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly both addressed Ennis District Court on Tuesday, claiming Ireland is complicit in atrocities through its decision to allow the US military to use Shannon Airport. They criticised the lack of inspections on aircraft being used by the US military, claiming that relying on diplomatic assurances from America is hopelessly inadequate. The two are accused of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year. During evidence on Tuesday, both freely acknowledged that they had entered the area in question but claimed they were left with no other option due to the lack of inspections being carried out by the authorities. They said they had been told to provide some concrete evidence to justify inspections and that their attempt to get to a US aircraft on the Shannon tarmac was a response. Mr Wallace also spoke about his experiences …

GUNS have routinely been carried through Shannon by the US military, it was claimed at Tuesday’s hearing into a case against TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. Also at the hearing a former Irish army officer warned that missiles brought through the airport on one occasion could have resulted in it being blown up, along with much of the neighbouring industiral estate. Deputy Mick Wallace of Clontarf Road, Dublin 3 and Clare Daly of Elmwood Drive, Swords, Dublin are both accused 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.                 While the case is being contested neither have denied that they did enter restricted parts of the airport by climbing a fence, indeed at one point in Tuesday’s sitting Mr Wallace jokingly asked for the return of …

ALREADY contentious, Shannon based Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy has turned up the political heat regarding the potential sale of the State’s share in Aer Lingus, as he has vowed to resign the party whip if the Government does sell to IAG. He made his comments after IAG CEO Willie Walsh addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Mr Walsh told the Committee that in the event of an IAG takeover, Shannon would get a five-year guarantee of Heathrow connectivity. However, after being quizzed by Senator Mulcahy, he acknowledged that he was not offering any guarantees around the preservation of the Aer Lingus services between Shannon and the US. While Mr Walsh did say that transatlantic services from Shannon have “huge potential” and that the numbers travelling on them are likely to increase in the summertime, this didn’t cut much ice with Senator Mulcahy. In a statement released shortly after the Committee sitting he said, “I cannot support …

UNITED Airlines has re-introduced its summer Shannon-Chicago service. 2013 was the first year of it and this summer it has been extending, running from May 23 to September 15. The frequency of it will be five flights weekly from May 23 to June 16, daily from June 17 to August 18, five weekly again from August 19 to September 1 and four a week from September 2 to September 15. “We’re delighted to re-introduce and extend our summer service between Shannon and Chicago in response to the great customer support we received last year,” said Yvonne Muldoon, United’s sales manager for Ireland. “We are pleased to offer more flexibility and choice for our Irish customers, not only to Chicago, but to over 300 destinations across the Americas.” There will be 169 seats on the flights, which will depart Shannon at 11am and arrive in Chicago at 1.15pm the same day, local time. The return flight will leave Chicago at 6.25pm …

UNITED Airlines have announced they will run services between Shannon and Chicago again next year but there will be 88% more capacity on the route in 2014. They started a Shannon-Chicago service this summer, after a number of years without any link to the Windy City, and this week a spokesman said things had gone very well, leading to the decision to increase the amount of capacity next year. The majority of those using the service are Americans and the decision to renew and extend the route will provide a boost to Clare tourism interests. On Wednesday, United managing director sales for Britain and Ireland, Bob Schumacher lauded the 2013 performance. “We are not only returning but returning with a lot more seats on the market and we’re extending the season from mid-May to mid-September. That’s all systems go. We’re very pleased with how it’s performed this year and looking forward to something similar next year.” While declining to give …