Tag Archives: west clare

BATHING restrictions lifted at beach locations in West and North Clare A notice from Clare County Council has lifted the temporary prohibition on swimming that had been in place at the following locations has now been lifted: Lahinch Spanish Point White Strand Miltown Malbay Kilkee Quilty (front beach) The bathing restrictions have been lifted as a result of analysis carried out over the weekend and on the advice of the HSE. There is ongoing monitoring at beach locations in County Clare. Clare County Council advises that the safest place to swim is at lifeguarded locations. For further information, contact Clare County Council environment section on (065) 6846331 / enviroff@clarecoco.ie and visit www.beaches.ie

APPEALS have been made for more responsible behaviour amid concerns about large gatherings in Kilkee on Saturday night (August 1). Footage has emerged appearing to show large numbers of younger people socialising in Kilkee in a manner that breaches public health guidelines on Covid-19 control. The video clips, which are circulating widely on social media, have prompted Clare County Council to appeal to all members of the public to act responsibly this August bank holiday weekend. Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, said: “Young people must remember that anyone can contract the virus. Furthermore, anyone not adhering to the guidelines risks transmitting the virus to more vulnerable members of their families and communities, for whom the consequences may be dire. There must be no repeat occurrence of the scenes shown on social media, in Kilkee or anywhere else in County Clare.” Meanwhile, in a social media post, Councillor Cillian Murphy who lives in the town appealed to parents …

WITH West Clare’s tourism sector set for a difficult spell ahead, the future of Moneypoint is particularly critical to the region’s economy. Kilrush based county councillor Ian Lynch said that the slow progress in establishing what the future will hold is very frustrating. “The momentum has been taken out of the economy and we have spent years discussing how Moneypoint can be a key stimulus to it. There are several opportunities out there that we’re just not allowed to explore because the ESB aren’t willing to open the deepwater port. I think a couple of weeks ago the ESB said that the possibility of Moneypoint being shut down in the near future is becoming more likely. I don’t believe that because I do think it’ll always be there as a back-up, there would still be maintenance, but the amount of shifts would be minimal in the year. ESB management aren’t willing to open up the port for reuse, they’re talking …

COUNCILLOR Joe Garrihy (Fine Gael) has been elected as Chairman of the West Clare Municipal District group of councillors. It is his first time filling the role and he succeeds Councillor Bill Chambers (Fianna Fáil). At today’s (Tuesday) AGM of the West and North Clare county councillors, Councillor Garrihy was proposed by Councillor Shane Talty and seconded by Councillor Gabriel Keating. The North Clare councillor is in his first term on Clare County Council, having been elected in the Ennistymon Electoral Area in May of 2019. “We have a challenging year ahead but a great team to lead the recovery of West Clare,” Councillor Garrihy said following his election as chair. Kilkee based Fianna Fáil councillor, Cillian Murphy, was elected vice chairman. He is also in his first term on Clare County Council.

EMERGENCY services are currently at the scene of a fire close to Doolough Lake in West Clare. Fire control has confirmed that they were alerted to the blaze at around 1.20pm. Two appliances, a jeep and a water carrier are at the scene. The nature of the fire is now yet known.

VODAFONE has fixed a fault which had caused a long-running problem with phone coverage in Loop Head. The company was contacted last week after local dairy farmer John Keane told The Champion of his concerns over the coverage for phone and data. He outlined how his family had paid over €1,000 over a six-month time-frame when they had virtually no coverage on the network. In response, Vodafone apologised for the network issue. This week, the company said its engineers have replaced a part on the network and that services are now available once again to customers in the area. The Keane family have confirmed that, as of last Monday, their phone coverage, and that of their neighbours, has been restored.

IT is time to plan to head off the worst effects of the loss of a huge amount of tourism business from West Clare, according to Councillor Cillian Murphy. Ahead of a meeting of West Clare Municipal District councillors on Thursday, he compiled an analysis of the relative importance of tourism in the county’s various municipal districts, showing that the impact on West Clare could be particularly severe. “The most at-risk sectors are those that are dealing with the public, that have high levels of personal contact. If you look at where our rates base is in the county, you see what the potential impact is for the county,” he said. Councillor Murphy said that the consequences of losing a season are very severe, while he said many areas of tourism are concentrated in the west of the county. “There are no caravan parks in any other municipal district, apart from West Clare. If you look at pubs, hostels, guesthouses …

ON Saturday morning, Jimmy Guinnane will leave his home at Toonagh around 5.30am and travel to Annacotty to pick up hundreds of loaves of Brennan’s bread, before spending the next 13 hours or so distributing them around Ennis and West Clare. He has spent thousands of days doing the same routine but Saturday will be the last time, as he finishes a job he has really enjoyed since beginning it 32 years ago. “I was working for Michael O’Sullivan before that in Corofin. I used to do a run up in North Clare and I did a run in Galway for him for six months with Kiely’s Bread. Then I started in West Clare in 1987 with Brennan’s bread.” He says he is very grateful to all the customers and the friends he has made on the route over the years. “I love meeting the people, meeting so many people every day. You’d have the craic with everybody. When I …