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MOUNTSHANNON can become Clare’s new international aviation hub drawing thousands of people to the mid-west region and eating into Dublin’s dominant position in the lucrative tourism market.

That’s the claim sounded out this week by Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd after being granted an operational license for a commercial seaplane base on the shores of Lough Derg at Mountshannon.

This is the first approved Com- mercial Sea Plane base in Europe and launches not only a new era in aviation history but a welcome development to the tourist industry,” Harbour Flights’ chief executive Emlyn Heapes told The Clare People .

“Failte Ireland and Shannon Development should be supporting this innovated enterprise which has now taken four years to archive this historical landmark in aviation and in tourism development.

“It will enable Lough Derg to become a major and vibrant tourism market leader as its prime location is perfect for sea plane owners to visit from all across Europe and a fantastic scenic introduction to beautiful Mountshannon and Lough Derg.

“Dublin receives half of our annual tourists with the west of Ireland predominately being a day destination. Our intention is to change this perception and make Dublin the day visit while opening up all of the tourist destinations in the west and have them easily accessible by the sea plane.

“Instead of attraction visits being a full day, with the majority of the visitor’s time being spent on a bus, we will shorten this to being under an hour.

“We are looking at opening the west and not only has our concept attracted the support of Failte Ireland, but we have also engrossed Tourism Ireland in the concept who have stated that it is an innovated tourism idea that they will use to promote tourism aboard,” he added.

Up to 45 new jobs are expected to the created by the Mountshannon based company that’s now set to embark on securing licenses for flights between Dublin Bay, Galway, Limerick, Foynes and Cobh.

The National Flight Centre, currently the largest flight training school in Europe, will also be using the Mountshannon base to establish the only European Aviation Safety Association (EASA) approved ‘Floats’ training base in Europe.

“This exciting development will greatly influence tourism revenue and help create a thriving training base that will attract budding pilots from all over Europe,” revealed Mr Heapes.

THE decision by the Irish Aviation Authority to grant a license to Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd to operate a seaplane service from Lough Derg brings to an end a campaign that was first started 35 years ago.

In 1976, aviation history was made in Clare when a flyingboat flew into Killaloe and landed on Lough Derg for the first time, which revived the mid west region’s association with the flying boat era from the 1930s to late ‘40s.

The Southern Cross was piloted by Captain Charles Blair – who had piloted the last schedulted sea plane flight from Foynes in 1945. Thirty one years later, Blair was accompanied on his historic flight by his wife Maureen O’Hara and Captain Paddy White of the Department of Transport and Power.

The Killaloe landing was part of a feasability study by the Department of Transport and Power into using Killaloe as a base for flyingboat operations, following a decision by Aer Arann Teoranta to apply for a license to run a service.

As part of the Aer Arann Teoranta application, the plan was to provide one-hour flights along the coast from Lough Derg at a £15 a head. However, the plan came to nothing.

Thirty five years on, Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd chief executive Emelyn Heapes has estimated that the cost of flights for his new operation would be between € 50 and € 160.

“This is huge news for us,” said Margaret O’Shaughnessy of the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, “given our history with sea planes and the museum. I am just back from a promotion visit to the US and we got a fantastic response. The fact that we will now be able to offer flights on sea planes will just be mega for Foynes and tourism in the wider region”.

CLARE County Council is to go ahead with a plan to demolish and rebuild the historic listed buildings at Blakes Corner in Ennistymon, with a Part 8 planning request likely to be completed before the end of this year.

This follows the completion of a report which recommends the demolition and reconstruction of the building to make space for a new road design at the dangerous junction.

It is unclear whether the report will be circulated to councillors before the Part 8 planing permission is formally lodged, despite repeated calls from Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) to take the “cloak and dagger” out of the development of Blakes Corner.

“I am concerned that there is a perception out there that we are dragging out feet on this,” said Cllr Arkins (FG). “We need to take the cloak and dagger out of this – for once and for all. If this report is done, and the people who have compiled this report are experts, then it should be able to stand up to scrutiny. The report has been done for almost a year now and I have asked for this to be circulated to elected members a number of times going back to last February or March.”

Cllr Arkins also asked that his latest request for the report to be circulated to all elected members be formally marked on the meeting of yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting. Despite these protests, it is unclear whether the report will be made public before it is included in the official Part 8 planning documentation.

“To my mind, to let the report out now properly contextualise the whole development process. I would have a concern that this report could become the subject of unbalanced debate because it is not accompanied by other documentation,” said senior engineer at Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan.

Cllr Arkins urged the local authority to reconsider this approach saying that if there were any flaws in the report it would be best to identify them sooner rather than later.

It was also revealed at yesterday meeting that the Part 8 planning permission is likely to be before the a full meeting of Clare County Council before the end of this year.

“I ask that the preparation of the Part 8 be an absolute priority. The only person who seem to be left out of this process is the general public and there are 400 students, elderly people walking to mass and people just trying to do business in Ennistymon,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“We need a definite date for this Part 8 and when the development will take place. We have been waiting for a long time for this and we can’t be waiting much longer.”

A PROPOSAL to impose strict limits on the number of motions that can be raised by councillors at local area meetings was proposed at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting in Ennistymon.

The proposal, which would see each councillor limited to just one motion per meeting, was suggested by Lahinch-based councillor Bill Slattery (FG).

Cllr Slattery says the measure would help staff members to deal better with individual enquiries.

According to Cllr Slattery, there is an increasing amount of repetition among the motions put forward by the elected members and the manpower is currently not there to deal effectively with requests.

“At the moment, we are allowed to put forward three motions each per meeting. Between the five of us, that amounts to 15 different motions every five or six weeks and we are all highlighting the same issues over and over again.

“I know that some councillors are waiting more than two years for some issues that have been highlighted to be resolved,” said Cllr Slattery.

“We all know that numbers have been reduced in the local offices all over the county and I think that their time could be better spent in dealing with a lower number of requests rather than a large numbers which contains a lot of repetition.

“I think that this should be done on a temporary basis, just until after the recession.

“If the money and the manpower was there I wouldn’t mind if we were putting in six or seven submissions each meeting.”

Meanwhile, a number of north Clare areas where flooding has taken place over the last two winters have been omitted from a National Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment being compiled by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

North Clare areas such as Doolin, Ballyvaughan and Miltown Malbay have not been included in the assessment, despite a number of unprecedented flooding events taking place in those areas in recent years.

The North Clare Area councillors will now make a submission to the OPW, requesting that these areas be included as part of the assessment.

This assessment, which is currently being conducted all over the country, is likely to inform the OPW’s strategy for tackling flooding for the next decade.

THE BODY of a Spanish national who was seen jumping off the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year has never been recovered, an inquest heard yesterday.

As Coroner Isobel O’Dea returned a verdict of suicide, she told the family of Laureano Peláez Garcia (44) that it was always difficult to have an inquest when no body has been recovered and said it was “particularly difficult for a family to try to come to terms with it”.

Mr Peláez Garcia, from Madrid, travelled from Spain to Ireland on April 2, 2011, and went to the Cliffs the following day.

The inquest heard details of statements made by several tourists who were visiting the Cliffs of Moher on April 3. One of them, Brendan Kenny, from the US, took a photograph of Mr Peláez Garcia, shortly before he disappeared.

He said that he saw a middle aged man sitting on a wall smoking a cigarette. “He was staring out towards the sea,” he recalled. He said he was a bit “freaked out” by this and felt it was “weird”. He said he then saw him blessing himself before running straight out off the cliffs. This was at around 1pm.

Another witness, Johanna Schmidt, said she saw a man taking items out of a rucksack. A short time after, she heard a scream and saw a man falling out from the cliff. Another witness recalled finding a rucksack with personal items including a wallet, watch and jacket, on the ground nearby.

Paul McDonagh, a driver with Bus Éireann, drove from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher that day. Mr Peláez Garcia got on in Galway at 10.30am and said he was going to Lisdoonvarna. However, when the bus reached Lisdoonvarna, he remained on the bus and got off at the Cliffs of Moher. Mr McDonagh told him that he would be leaving the Cliffs of Moher at 1.30pm and Mr Peláez Garcia said if he was returning, he would go at that time.

Mr McDonagh said that Mr Peláez Garcia asked him did he have children. He told the bus driver that he didn’t have any children. The bus driver noticed a lot of sweat on his forehead. He said he saw him walking up towards the cliffs but he then lost sight of him.

Tom Doherty, a ranger at the Cliffs of Moher, said that three girls approached him at around 1pm with a rucksack. They told him that a man had jumped off the cliffs. He said he could see the casualty at the base of the Cliffs in a pool of water. The tide was out.

He called for the rescue helicopter and boat. He said that that body was too near the cliff for the helicopter to approach and the sea was too rough for the boat to attempt to recover it. There was a three metre swell at the time. The area was surveyed by Doolin Coast Guard for 90 minutes, before the casualty then disappeared from view.

Searches continued for 10 days but the body was never found, he said.

Mr Peláez Garcia’s brother told the inquest that he last saw his brother a week before he went to Ireland.

Ms O’Dea explained to Mr Peláez Garcia’s family that medical evidence was not available because his body was never located. She said that the deceased had been positively identified through the photograph.

“In this instance I’m very much aware of the conversation Mr Peláez Garcia had with the bus driver. Unfortunately the appropriate verdict for me to bring in is a verdict of suicide,” said the Coroner.

She paid tribute to gardaí who carried out a thorough investigation and also lauded Doolin Coast Guard for its efforts to recover Peláez Garcia’s body.

IN A SIGN of the extent to which Clare students are relying on state support to attend college, over 1,000 applications for third level grants have so far been received by Clare VEC.

The figure, which is believed to be significantly above the number of applications received at the same point last year, was given to members at the monthly meeting of Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC).

George O’Callaghan, Chief Executive Officer with Clare VEC, told last Thursday’s meeting that the number of applications was higher than 1000. Mr O’Callaghan appealed to applicants to complete and return all documents, saying a failure to do so leads to a delay in the application process. He also praised the efforts VEC staff working in the grants section.

In his monthly report to members, Mr O’Callaghan states, “Over 1,000 applications have been received so far. A large number have already been processed initially. Great credit and thanks is due to the staff in the grants section as well as staff from other sections that have assisted in the process.

He adds, “However as in previous years large numbers of applicants are not submitting full documentation with their applications which leads to delays in processing those applications.”

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Peter Considine (FF) commended the efforts of VEC staff. “We don’t always fully appreciate the work that goes in,” he added.

Mr O’Callaghan congratulated students in schools around the county and at the Adult Education Centre for their results in the Leaving Certificate.

A SUNKEN boat became the unlikely saviour of a couple who got into in difficulty in the water off North Clare yesterday afternoon.

A man and woman were winched to safety yesterday afternoon after their dinghy capsized in water between Ballyvaughan and Blackhead. The couple were rescued from the waters about 200 metres off the Clare coast when their dingy overturned in rough seas.

The couple were thrown into the freezing water but luckily managed to make their way to an upturned sunken boat in the water. After climbing onto the hull of the sunken vessel, the pair were able to contact emergency services using a mobile phone. The Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter flew to the scene and winched the two people to safety. They were flown to University College Hospital Galway where they were treated for possible hypothermia.

Meanwhile, the search will continue today, September 27, for a man missing from around the Cliffs of Moher since last Friday. The man, who is believed to be from County Cavan, was last seen in the North Clare area some time of Thursday afternoon. The man is described as being in his 30s and is believed to have gone missing from the area around the Cliffs of Moher.

Ennistymon Gardaí as well as members of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard conducted extensive in the searches for a missing man of Friday and Saturday while the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter was also involved in the search effort as was the SARDA search dogs.

Following unsuccessful searches on Friday and Saturday the search party was joined by members of the Kilkee and Killaloe Coast Guard on Sunday. After an extensive search of the area the operation was called on just after 9pm as a result of deteriorating weather conditions.

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard and the Shannon-based Coastguard Helicopter continued the search yesterday but again were forced to stand down the operation for the night without locating a trace of the missing man.

A NEW Euro Disney on the Shannon could be one of the possible projects for a 120-acre landbank at Bunratty.

Shannon Development is seeking expressions of interest in the initiative, which was launched in the United States last week as part of an overall investment campaign for the Bunratty project.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Shannon Development explained that research carried out by the regional development agency has identified a number of possible suitable projects for the site, among them a diaspora visitor centre and genealogy centre, and themed family adventure park.

Flan Quilligan, Tourism Product Development Manager, Shannon Development, said, “We believe that a significant opportunity exists at our Bunratty landbank site to develop complementary and sustainable visitor facilities and attractions which are in keeping with the authenticity of the existing visitor attraction and surrounding area. The site is zoned for tourism development by Clare County Council and we look forward to receiving expressions of interest and a range of potential project ideas.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development, said that Bunratty Castle and Folk Park contributes an estimated € 20 million in spin off revenue for the area annually. He added, “We want to see a new generation of project ideas which will continue to enhance Bunratty and the Shannon region’s reputation as an international visitor destination. The Bunratty Landbank project forms part of our overall tourism product development strategy which will this year see, amongst other projects, work start on a € 5.7 million re-development of King John’s Castle in Limerick.”

A 120-ACRE site near the world famous Bunratty Castle and Folk Park has emerged as a potential location for a major new tourist attraction.

Shannon Development is seeking expressions of interest for the development of a landbank adjacent to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, which attracts over 400,000 tourists every year.

According to tender documents, “Having successfully developed and operated the existing attraction at Bunratty, Shannon Development considers that significant opportunity exists to further develop the overall attraction by utilising the adjoining lands to develop complementary and sustainable visitor facilities and attractions which are in keeping with the authenticity of the existing visitor attraction and surrounding area.”

The regional economic development agency states that Bunratty Castle and Folk Park has developed over the years to become one of Ireland’s top visitor attractions.

Shannon Development believes that all the “key elements” are in place at the 120-acre site to develop a major new tourist facility.

The tender document states that “To tal visitor numbers for the attraction have reached in excess of 400,000 per annum. The company continues to operate the attraction to a very high standard consistent with international best practice.”

It continues, “This commitment is evident through the build / design standards adopted throughout the attraction and also through the strong visitor and customer focused management of the facility. Over many years, Shannon Development has put in place all key elements required to accurately present and efficiently operate the attraction.”

According to Shannon Development, “An area of development land which is partially zoned for tourism development comprising approximately 120 acres adjacent to the existing Bunratty attraction is available for development.”

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is operated by Shannon Heritage, the tourism and heritage subsidiary of Shannon Development.

According to Shannon Development’s latest annual report, attractions and facilities run by Shannon Heritage attracted over 417,000 visitors to Ireland in 2010. The report states that an additional 13,000 visitors were attracted to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park last December.

A MAJOR fundraising effort that got underway in January has so far secured € 85,000 for the development of new classrooms at Knockanean National School.

Construction on a new two-storey development, which encompasses four new classrooms, is currently underway at the school on the outskirts of Ennis.

Work on the € 100,000 project is expected to be completed by December.

The school was built in 1949 with a further extension in 1997. Since then the number of pupils attending the school has more than doubled to 280. Four classes of children plus the school’s resource teachers are currently being catered for in prefabricated cabins.

In 2010 the school received a grant from the Department of Education and Science for new facilities. However the grant fell short of what was required to complete the work. Last September, the Board of Management appointed a fundraising committee to raise the shortfall of € 100,000 required to complete the extension.

Now as a result of the dedicated efforts of staff, the local community and the 175 families with children attending the school, € 85,000 has been raised to date.

Caroline Purcell of the Knockanean fundraising committee explained, “This puts the fundraising right on track to reach their target. The build- ing work is also on track as painting begins on the outside of the new building this week. There is an air of excitement around the school as pupils, staff and families look forward to the new classrooms being opened on schedule.”

The fundraising drive has so far included a buy a brick campaign and a charity CD. Caroline said the campaign would continue over the coming months. She added, “To help the school reach the target, the fundraising committee have organised a flag day and bag packing days over the next few weeks.”

School principal Pat McNamara paid tribute to the efforts of parents and parents of past pupils. He said the fundraising campaign had exceeded all expectations. He added, “We thought this might have been a two year thing but people have really rowed in behind it.”