Tag Archives: west clare

CLARE County Council has written to Kilrush Town Councillor Tom Prendeville on six occasions in an effort to elicit an apology for a comment passed to a member of their staff at a traffic management meeting in Kilrush in February. However, Councillor Prendeville insists that he did apologise in February and claims his apology is written into the minutes of that meeting. While he described the apology as “contrite and sincere”, Councillor Prendeville claims he was contacted six weeks later and told that the apology wasn’t sufficient. The comment was made during a debate on the placement of double yellow lines on both sides of the Back Road, outside St Senan’s National School in Kilrush. Councillor Prendeville opposed this development, which has led to parents having to park illegally when dropping and collecting their children from school. RIMS meetings are believed to be unique to Kilrush Town Council. They are held in camera, deal with traffic management issues in Kilrush …

FOLLOWING his “rejection” by Fianna Fáil at the party’s West Clare Electoral Area convention on Monday, Councillor Tom Prendeville has claimed that he was approached immediately after the meeting and asked if he wanted to be added to the list of candidates. The sitting Kilrush Town Councillor refused to completely rule out running as an independent candidate, labelled Fianna Fáil a rural organisation, said the late Nelson Mandela wouldn’t have been successful at the convention and maintained that he was “shafted” by Fianna Fáil party strategists. Outgoing county councillors PJ Kelly (51 votes), Pat Keane (50) and Bill Chambers (32) were selected to run for the party in next year’s expanded West Clare constituency, which will elect eight councillors. This means that, as of now, Fianna Fáil will have no Kilrush town candidate in the field for the 2014 election. It has also emerged that there is no registered Fianna Fáil member within Kilrush town. Michael O’Neill (15), Tom Prendeville …

KILRUSH town councillor Tom Prendeville has revealed that Fianna Fáil has no registered members in the West Clare capital. “Within Kilrush there is no registered member within five or six miles. We haven’t got the members. People are not coming forward. So don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and say everything is ok. We effectively tonight sent out a message that we are a rural organisation. It’s inconceivable that where we have the municipal capital of the new electoral area, we won’t have a Fianna Fáil candidate. That’s not good for Fianna Fáil. We are in trouble, big, big trouble in the urban areas,” Councillor Prendeville told Monday night’s selection convention in Spanish Point, where he failed to win a place on the ticket for the 2014 county council elections. Responding to news that Fianna Fáil membership is non-existent in Kilrush town, Deputy Niall Collins asked why that was the case. “I’d ask the question why isn’t …

A LOGGERHEAD turtle, which is unsuited to cold water, was obviously uncomfortable in the sea around Quilty, where it was stranded last week. On November 9, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation were alerted after the stranded turtle was discovered. It was subsequently brought to the Galway Atlantaquarium, where it is being cared for. The turtle was given the name Leon after the famous shipwreck in Quilty. Simon Berrow of the IWDG said things are looking up for the unfortunate turtle.  “It’s in the Galway Atlantaquarium and it’s quite active now. The local county council vet in Galway is providing some veterinary input and she’s very thorough. As of Monday, it’s in a bigger tank and it’s now in fully salt water. It had been in fresh water because it was dehydrated and they can absorb water through their skin. It has a bit of an infection on its shell and they’re …

CLARE County Council is considering two expressions of interest in Kilkee Dive Centre, which local town councillors say is extremely expensive to operate. At Monday’s meeting of Kilkee Town Council, Town Mayor Paddy Collins asked for an update on the centre. Kilkee town manager Anne Haugh read a letter from Michael McNamara, corporate services of Clare County Council, where he outlined the latest situation. “Some months ago the council sought expressions of interest from parties interested in leasing the dive centre in Kilkee, consequent of a previous lease being terminated. Three parties expressed interest. Detailed submissions were subsequently received from two interested parties. These submissions are under consideration at the moment and before the end of the month, the council hopes to be in a position to select a preferred party,” the letter read. “This will give that party ample opportunity to have the facility up and running for 2014. The council are committed to ensure that the facility is …

By Peter O’Connell A PROPOSED windfarm extension in Kilmaley parish could power up to 11,000 homes nationwide, if a joint ESB Wind Development Ltd/Coillte application is successful. Details relating to the proposed extension to the Boolynagleragh windfarm will be outlined at a public information event in Kilmaley GAA Club from 3pm to 8pm next Tuesday. ESB Wind Development Ltd, in conjunction with Coillte, will host the event. “The proposed windfarm will potentially generate enough electricity to power over 11,000 homes,” Wind Development Ltd and Coillte stated in a joint statement. “ESB International is preparing the Environmental Impact Statement, as well as the planning application for the proposal. Representatives from ESB Wind Development and Coillte will be present to provide information and answer any queries regarding the proposed windfarm,” the statement added. On Wednesday, Stephen Cosgrove of ESB International said it could take more than two years for electricity to be generated on the site, if planning permission is approved. “It …

IN recent weeks, Kilrush Town Councillor Tom Clyne retired from his role as a FÁS job initiative worker in the town. The former town mayor, who was first elected to the local council in 2004, has worked in the position since 1998. As he remembers it, a significant amount of people were employed on the jobs initiative scheme 15 years ago. That figure has since drastically reduced. “There are about 10 people on the scheme in Kilrush at the moment. We have lost a lot of people through retirement or death in the last few years. I think there was 21 on the scheme in 1998,” Mr Clyne said this week. The Westmeath man, whose wife Breda is from Kilrush, worked primarily as a maintenance man on the scheme. “I was one of the people assigned to do the house maintenance for Kilrush Town Council, who were our sponsors. I was a general operative starting off but as we progressed, …

JASON Ryan has got to know almost every back road in West Clare in recent months. The Kilrush man, who is a retained fire fighter in the town, has been partaking in four hour early morning training stints as he prepares for a five day, 2,100km (1,350 miles) cycle around Ireland. The cycle starts at 3pm in Trim on Sunday and is due to last five days. Jason, who is fundraising for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee and the Clare 250 Cycle, is confident that he is in physical shape to cycle up to 500km daily. “I’ve been out most mornings, nearly every morning, for the last couple of months. I’ve been clocking up between 80 to 100km at least four mornings a week. When it was brighter I was heading out at 5 or 5.30am but for the last few weeks it has been about 6.30am,” he told The Clare Champion this week. Once he leaves his …