Tag Archives: west clare

A group of 14 volunteers from West Clare are set to travel to Zambia next week to volunteer their skills with school projects there. Clare to Kabwe supports projects in the town of Kabwe, Zambia and volunteers from West Clare travel there every year linking up with the Irish Zambia Aid Project, Zamda Ireland. Ahead of travelling to Zambia, their aim has been to raise €20,000 to build a special needs classroom and first aid room for the Zamda Ireland run school. Zamda Ireland is a registered charity which was established in 2004 by Padraig O’ Fainin and his wife, and runs a centre called Sables Nua for the most vulnerable children in Kabwe. A refuge of happiness and hope, it offers food, clothing, medical care, emergency overnight accommodation, counselling, education and vocational training for over 300 orphaned and vulnerable children. Many of the children come from the street of Kabwe and Lusaka; they have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, …

Cllr Rita McInerney who is widely expected to top the poll in Kilrush today has attributed part of her vote- getting success to her Fianna Fáil family, and the team that surrounds her. Reacting to her top position in yesterday’s tallies, she said ‘”I am very optimistic, very delighted, shocked really and very surprised at the tallies so far. Transfers will pay a part especially the lowest candidates on the tallies might not necessarily transfer to me so it will all depend.” “It was very much a team effort. I had people in all corners of the constituency mainly from the party, mainly from Fianna Fáil. It was the Fianna Fáil network. I don’t come from a huge family so the wider Fianna Fáil family paid a huge part definitely. Community people in lots of different places which was key.” She also paid tribute to her campaign manager, Pat Considine who she said is well known on very doorstep which …

Kilkee councillor and candidate, Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) has said it is “all to play for” in filling the last seat in the Kilrush local electoral area at today’s election count. It is looking like he, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) and Alan Troy (FF) will be battling it out for the fifth and final seat. However, Cllr Murphy has questioned the accuracy of yesterday’s tallies, which is offering him a degree of hope. “We know the tallies are a little bit all over the shop. I was speaking to Cllr Pat Burke yesterday and his vote was out by 100 from the tallies so there is a big discrepancy with the tallies now. “If you look at the tallies for the Kilrush electoral area effectively you have got me, Gabriel Keating and Alan Troy in the hunt for the last seat and that is me being an adult about what I am seeing but now the tallies are suspect…” The …

A West Clare farm leader has joined a new political alliance which will see three farmers contesting the Local Elections on June 7. Independent candidate, Joseph Woulfe has joined Independent Ireland following recent discussions with its main political leaders in recent weeks. Interestingly, Independent Ireland now has two candidates contesting the Kilrush Electoral Area Mr Woulfe and Kilkee-based dairy and beef farmer, Kevin Hassett. The alliance’s third candidate, Mathew Moroney has thrown his hat into the election ring in the Killaloe Electoral Area. Before Mr Woulfe joined Independent Ireland, he had wrongly assumed the new alliance used a party whip system like other mainstream political parties, which is not the case. The West Clare barber says joined the party because it is geared towards supporting rural development and tackling issues affecting people living in rural areas. “I believe it will benefit constituents for me to be part of an alliance of like-minded people,” he said. “Independent Ireland candidates can share …

West Clare based American writer, Tara Darlene Smith, has released a powerful new memoir exploring war, relationships, mental health and healing “I knew nothing about Ireland at the time, I certainly never imagined that one day I’d be living here as a writer,” says Tara Darlene Smith as she reflects on the odyssey of releasing her first book. Twenty years ago, in 2004, the then 22-year-old arrived at Shannon Airport as a US soldier en route to Iraq. The brief stopover gave her enough time to purchase a silver shamrock necklace in a green box labelled “Tara,” which she wore every day at war. Thirteen years later, she returned as a civilian and a tourist to begin what she calls a “love affair with Clare”. It has been, she says, “a journey of healing the traumas of childhood and of war” and “discovering a sense of peace I never thought possible”. In her candid and gripping memoir entitled Sunflowers in …

North and West Clare councillors have called on the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan (GP) to restore the Active Travel Scheme, and apply it equally to urban and rural areas. At the September meeting of the West Clare municipal district, Cathaoirleach, Councillor Ian Lynch (IND) put forward a motion to request that the Active Travel Scheme be applied equally to urban and rural areas. Another motion by Councillor Joe Garrihy (FG) called for the Minister to restore the same scheme. Cllr Lynch said “I think it’s important we put pressure on” adding North Clare and West Clare was not getting enough to manage successfully and would need to either get its fair share or get a different scheme set up.” Cllr Garrihy described Active Travel as “one of the most exciting schemes” ever established, and said it was “totally unacceptable” that it was not extended to North Clare, adding it needed to be restored “on the double” to make up …

A WEST Clare councillor has called for the reclassification of regional roads in the district to facilitate more regular gritting during a cold snap. Councillor Murphy proposed the R487, R488 between Kilkee, Carrigaholt and Kilbaha, and the R473 between Kildysart and Labasheeda, be included as strategic regional routes in future winter service plans as Priority Two. Speaking at a recent West Clare Municipal District meeting, Councillor Murphy said these two strategic regional routes were not included in the Winter Plan for treating roads, despite the fact they served significant populations. The Kilkee Councillor said the R487 is effectively a main road to the Loop Head Peninsula for about 3,000 people. “These roads should be treated as Priority Two, which means their treatment will not be done on an ad-hoc basis. This would ensure they are a core part of the treatment of roads rather than we will get to them if we can. “This is exactly the kind of stuff …

TRUMP International spent just under €4.5 million on wages and salaries in 2021, newly filed accounts show. While the company was one of West Clare’s largest employers with an average of 230 staf in 2019, this dipped to 112 in the first year of the pandemic, before coming back up to 137 last year. The amount spent on wages increased by €1.27 million in 2021 compared to the previous year. Trump International made an operating profit of €509,892 for the year, rebounding from an operating loss of almost €2 million in 2020. However, despite the operating profit, its net assets declined by over €1 million, largely due to depreciation and amortisation of €2.054 million. During the year the company received €1.85 million in government grants. While 2021 was a difficult year because of Covid restrictions, a note accompanying the accounts said Trump International had performed quite well in the circumstances. “While the hotel had to close to the public for …