The Clare People Archive

THREE local companies will be rewarded for their ingenuity this Thursday with the first ever Innovation in the Community Awards. The awards, which are being organised by Gort solicitor and cleric abuse campaigner Eileen McMahon, aim to recognise local businesses who use the natural resources available in the west of Ireland to good effect.

The identity of the three shortlisted business are as yet unknown but they are drawn from more than a dozen local companies in Clare and South Galway.

“One of my interests in dealing with people who suffered from trauma. When I set up my complementary health business, I tried to source products from Ireland and the local areas and there wasn’t really anything around. I had to import everything from the UK. I think we should be using more of our resources and trying to creat things which are based locally. That is what sparked the idea,” said Eileen. “I was interest in any ideas from the community. Whether someone is a cleaner or the head of a million pound company, there is no telling where the good ideas will come from. Often times it is people in the front line of a business, people who are dealing with a problem on a daily basis, are the people who are able to find a good way of getting around that problem.”

The awards night will take place at the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort this Wednesday from 7pm. The guest speakers on the night will include Bobby Kerr from the Dragon’s Den, Eileen herself and Richard Griffin, who is a specialist in power generation. “The idea of the competition is to get people to think. For them to look around their area and think how they could survive if they couldn’t get something from outside their area,” continued Eileen.

“The idea is to help local people who have good ideas to be able to take that idea forward. A lot of companies are coming into Ireland and setting up, and that is fine but I think we need to look more about creating something for ourselves.”

Winners of the competition will be announced on the night. For information or to book a table for the finals night call 091 632426.

WEST Clare tourism has received a huge shot in the arm this week thanks to the decision by Shannon Development to keep the its tourist office in Kilrush open for a month longer than previous years.

The move by the state agency to keep the tourist office that located on Frances Street in town comes on the back of what was a good tourist season in West Clare and the expectation that this strong showing can continued for the month of September.

Shannon Development, which has responsibility for operating tourist centres in Kilrush, Kilkee and Ennis, confirmed that extended opening hours had been put in pace in at the Kilrush centre “to meet a demand that’s out there for the service”.

And, The Clare People can reveal that the success of the Loophead Lighthouse initiative has been the main driving force for ensuring that tourism in the West Clare catchment area has been boosted in 2011.

“The Kilrush Tourist Information Office was due to close at the beginning of September but with the phenomenal success of the Loop Head Lighthouse in attracting visitors to the area we have decided to extend the opening until the end of September,” revealed Siobhan King, Shannon Development Tourism Officer for the county.

“We are doing this to facilitate additional visitors who are being drawn to the area. To-date almost 15,000 visitors have been attracted to this wonderful heritage site and we intend to do all we can to maximise on this.”

The tourist office was to close last Wednesday, August 31, but will now remain open for seven days a week on the back of the success of the Loophead initiative. It’s opening hours are 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 2pm on Sundays.

Meanwhile, the Shannon Development operated tourist centre in Kilkee has closed after a three-month season. It re-opened on June 1 last and operated from 9.30am to 5.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday of each week, despite fears locally that there would be reduced opening hours which would eventually lead to its permanent closure.

Now after a successful season, the local Chamber of Commerce is set to ramp up its campaign to have the tourist office moved from its traditional O’Connell Street home to the newly renovated Sweeney Memorial Library, which is set to re-open in 2012.

CONFIRMATION that the opening of Loophead Lighthouse as a visitor centre has been the story of the 2011 tourism year in Clare was heralded this week with the news that over 17,000 people have paid into the facility in the six weeks since it was opened to the public. The Clare People has learned that the new tourism venture at Clare’s most westerly tip has netted over € 50,000 in revenues since it was opened to the public on July 18 last – a huge surge of numbers and revenues that has prompted the project promoters to keep the facility opened for a further month.

The lighthouse was due to close on Sunday last, September 4, but will now remain open for the rest of the month as tourism in West Clare reaps the benefits of opening of the facility to the public that was two years in the making after it was first suggested by way of a motion to Clare County Council by Loophead councillor Gabriel Keating in July 2009.

The opening of the lighthouse to visitor traffic for the first time in its 117-year history is a pilot project being pioneered by Clare County Council in conjunction with Loophead Tourism, Shannon Development and the Commissioners of Irish lights.

Traffic figures secured by The Clare People this week have revealed that over 17,000 people have paid € 3 a head to visit the tower of the lighthouse helping push revenues past the € 50,000 mark while over 20,000 have grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights owned facility.

“We believe this is another major step in enhancing West Clare’s tourism product offering,” said Shannon Development’s tourism officer Siobhan King said this week.

“Our work on the Loop Head Lighthouse project is part of a range of initiatives that we have undertaken this year in West Clare which include new loop walks in Lissycasey and Kilkee, with more proposals in the pipeline. We look forward to welcoming an increased number of visitors to the area,” she added.

THE Tidy Towns Committee in Corofin has seen a massive influx of new members over the past 12 months. These new members, along with a core group of experienced locals, have helped guide the village to an impressive 254 points in this year’s competition.

“We have managed to pack about five years’ work into one year so we are very happy. It’s been a great year, a lot of new people have come on board and that has really helped take it to the next level,” said Marie Nealon of the Corofin Tidy Towns Committee.

“We’ve also had a lot of skilled local professionals, stonemasons and wall builders, who gave their time for free to the Tidy Towns which re- ally helped as well.

“It is great to have the competition to focus on. These results will help us get an idea of what we need to work on for future years. They will give us something to build on and something that we can aim to improve on next year and the year after.”

The Corofin Tidy Towns group meets every Tuesday and Wednesday evening in the car park beside the Corofin Hostel from 7pm. Everyone is welcome.

SHANNON improved by three points in their Tidy Towns scoring this year, much to the delight of the hard-working committee.

A core group of four or five people meet at the town hall every Monday night and focus on keeping the town as clean as possible. Their efforts were rewarded when the results were announced yesterday evening, when 275 points were awarded, compared with 272 last year.

Improvements were made in a number of areas including landscaping, wildlife and natural amenities and litter control, while the residential areas impressed the adjudicators. The overall development approach dropped by one point this year – it moved down from 47 points to 46 out of a maximum of 50.

The PRO of the Tidy Towns committee in the town, Olive Bowen, said the result pleased everybody. “We are delighted. It is very, very hard to get a point. We are thrilled. Seven or eight years ago we were losing points. There was a lot of construction then. To go up three is excellent,” she said. “The focus now is back to work, no celebrating! We love doing it. We have great old banter,” said Olive. “Hail, rain or snow, we will meet at the Town Hall at 7 o’clock every Monday night.”

Among those who help out every week are founding member Tess Barry, her son Fintan, Olive Bowen, Gerry Fogarty and Joe Hogan.

The adjudicators’ report congratu- lated the committee on liaising with the local schools to improve the area. The hotels and restaurants were praised for their various features and colour co-ordination.

“Your committee has undertaken an impressive amount of planting. The flower beds along Bóthar Mór provide a nice splash of colour and impress the visitor on arrival. The town has vast areas of green spaces and parks and these were generally well maintained and presented to a high standard,” noted the adjudicators. “The landscaping presentation at the Town Hall was excellent and set a very high standard. A fine feature of the town is the many well presented Irish name signs,” added the report.

The information board on flora and fauna near the Wetlands project was also congratulated and was described as “educational”.

“As a rural town, Shannon is rich in natural wildlife, green areas and habitats and perhaps a good way of raising awareness of environmental issues amongst the local community would be for the committee to further liaise with the local schools to encourage local wildlife surveys,” advised the adjudicators.

The committee was congratulated for its efforts on litter control. The residential areas throughout the town were also praised for their good standard of presentation and maintenance. “Your ongoing promotion of estates competitions is a very good initiative and can only have an increased beneficial effect over time,” stated the report.

THE PEOPLE of Bridgetown were over the moon last night after scooping their very first accolade in the national Tidy Towns competition.

Bridgetown won the endeavour award after increasing its score from 254 points last year to 259 this time around. The success was put down to the strong community spirit locally.

The adjudicators visited Bridgetown in June and were very happy with the work done by the small committee in the village which is populated by around 200 people.

Points were increased in a number of categories including landscaping; wildlife and natural amenities; litter control; waste minimisation and also the condition of the residential areas.

Chairperson of the Tidy Towns committee, Mary Duggan said this was the first award during 15 years’ participation in this competition. It comes on foot of the area winning first place in its category in the countywide ‘Clare in Bloom’ competition earlier in the year.

“We are delighted. We didn’t expect anything,” said Ms Duggan. “We have a lovely green area, lovely church grounds and school grounds. They are all top class,” she said.

Mary works closely with Tony Horan, Brid Drew and Aidan Toomey in ensuring the locality looks its best all year round.

“We just kept going with the high standard of what we have been doing over the years. It’s all about commitment really,” she said.

“We focused on grass cutting, keeping the kerbs litter free and painting the creamery,” she said.

The adjudicators were pleased with a number of initiatives undertaken by the local committee and stated that the village green has a “striking appearance”.

“Bridgetown village has an attractive layout radiating out from the old stone bridge on both sides,” the adjudication report noted.

It congratulated the local primary school on securing a green flag. “It was good to see one (Green flag) flying proudly this year. We congratulate all concerned on this achievement,” stated the report.

The Church and adjoining burial grounds were praised, while the Marian Grotto was described as pro- viding a “welcoming atmosphere”.

“The various approach roads are certainly your strength and have a lovely variety of stone walls, hedgerows and mature trees. The Clonboy Estate approach is spectacular and still retains its original formal character. The sloping green at the village centre is a delight and makes an immediate visual impact on the visitor,” stated the adjudicators, in their report.

“Your successful liaison with the local school is heartening and perhaps bodes well for the future,” added the report.

WEST Clare fared well in the national Tidy Towns results announced yesterday, with two of the three gold medals heading there.

Kilrush and Ballynacally – along with Ennis – took gold medals, having recorded impressive results.

Ballynacally recorded the county’s second highest score of 305 points (Ennis earned 307), which was just five points behind the overall national winners Killarney. Kilrush re- ceived 303 points. Kilrush increased their scores from last year by three and improved in the areas of landscaping, litter control and the built environment.

A three-point increase was also handed to Ballynacally, which increased points in the areas of landscaping, the built environment and wildlife and natural amenities.

The adjudicators were pleased with both areas and described Ballynacally as “a lovely rural village still retaining a good quantity of traditional farm buildings”.

“Ballynacally is a charming village retaining its original character and scale while developing a modern style and outlook,” noted the adjudication report.

In Kilrush, the adjudicators noted the improvement in the town, where “new buildings superbly integrated alongside the fine old structures”. St Senan’s Church and the grotto were pointed out, having impressed the adjudicators, who described the town’s work as a “truly wonderful effort”.

“The Vandeleur Walled Gardens are a unique attraction and the resurfacing of the access road here is an impressive project,” noted the adjudication report.

“Kilrush has a large number of incidental open spaces widely dispersed throughout the town and they are presented to a high standard. The production of bedding plants is an admirable scheme. Your plans to develop more sustainable planning augur well for the future,” added the report.

IT’S 30 years now since Clare first scaled the heights of the National Tidy Towns when Mountshannon brought the overall title home for the first time ever, but it’s in the last decade that the county has showcased itself as one of the leading lights of the hugely prestigious competition that dates from 1958.

Figures secured by The Clare People this week give a breakdown of how far the county has come in 10 years – from the smallest centres like Bridgetown with less than 200 of a population through to the county capital of Ennis that has emerged as the flagship of Clare Tidy Towns in recent years.

Firstly, it’s in terms of participat- ing centres, with the numbers of towns and villages taking part in the competition having mushroomed in recent years on the back of greater community involvement and awareness of the importance of the local environment.

In 2002, the number of entries from Clare was 27, but in the intervening decade that has risen by 22 per cent, with 34 entries in 2011, but more significant than that rise in participation has been a huge jump in the standard of entries from Clare.

Pride of place in this regard goes to centres like Ballynacally – 10 years ago it returned an overall mark of 218, but in the intervening period has made rapid strides through the ranks of Tidy Towns in the county, winning a Gold Medal in this year’s event af- ter returning a hugely impressive mark of 305.

Once again, Ennis has proven itself to be Clare’s most consistent Tidy Towns performer, winning a Gold Medal in every year over the past decade. Ennis’ drive to the top started at the beginning of the decade and culminated with overall victory in 2005, while they’ve maintained those high standards since then, winning the Tidiest Large Urban Centre Award in 2006 through to another Gold Medal-winning performance this year.

Meanwhile, Mountshannon’s enduring involvement in Tidy Towns received national recognition once more thanks to their Silver Medalwinning performance, 30 years after they blazed a trail for the county by winning the overall award.

At the presentation of the awards in Dublin on Monday, Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, praised those from Clare who participated in this year’s competition.

“I continue to be impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of all those involved in the Tidy Towns effort,” he said. “These people volunteer their time and effort, year on year, in order to make their communities better places.

“The results of their efforts are to be seen in attractive, well cared for towns and villages throughout the country. It is clear that working together, getting out there and getting things done increases peoples’ pride in where they live and helps to build stronger communities,” he added.

THE Chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns says he is happy Ennis has retained its “elite” status after the town won county and regional honours at the National Tidy Towns awards yesterday.

Ennis placed fifth overall, scoring a total of 307 points, just three marks shy of winners Killarney. Ennis won a county award, the mid-west regional award and a gold medal.

The county capital also narrowly missed out on reclaiming the prize for Ireland’s tidiest large urban centre, with the honour going to the home of the newly crowned All-Ireland hurling champions, Kilkenny.

“I was talking to one of the adjudicators and he said it was only a toss of a coin, there was only one point between us. It’s Kilkenny’s year, I suppose. We had won it a few times and we were hoping to get it back. But we’re quite happy,” explains Ennis Tidy Towns Chairman, Noel Crowley.

The adjudicator’s report praised Ennis for it’s “structured approach to ongoing developments in the town.”

It continues, “There are many examples of good planning policy, good design and imaginative and colourful presentations dispersed throughout. New developments have integrated well and have strengthened the traditional identity and ethos of your historical location, while continuing an important programme of development for the youth. Well done on your success in the Tidy Towns competition, which is well deserved.”

Mr Crowley says, “We were fifth out of 820, which is no mean achievement. It’s hard to stay at the top because you only climb up incrementally.”

“To stay at the top is the hardest thing to do. The mark we got this year would have it won it last year and the year before that. So we’re happy to stay at the elite end of the competition,” he adds.

On the area of litter control in Ennis, the report states, “Your litter programme is working well, considering that the town hosted a number of events over the weekend. The employment of litter wardens is a very good initiative as is your campaign of promoting civic pride through your liaison with the Green Schools and the Spring Day Programmes. Once again the main streets were generally litter free while some back areas had small scatterings of litter. The river area looked very well.”

The report also compliments the efforts of local residents associations.

It states, “The various initiatives you have undertaken in this category are effective. Categorising areas for competition and the holding of prizegiving ceremonies is a great way of promoting environmental issues in the many housing estates in your town.

“This adjudicator was very impressed with new developments at Cloughleigh including the HSE Community Resource House and the new playground. The announcement name sign of the various estates and many individual colourful private gardens were admired here. Well done on this effort.”

Mr Crowley hopes the unveiling of four new statues in the coming months will boost Ennis’ chances of landing the top prize next year.

He also thanked all those who had contributed to Ennis’ ongoing success in the competition, saying, “Everyone in Ennis is part of this. It’s not the committee. It’s everyone.”

A FORMER Mayor of Kilrush is to take the fight against the centralistation of local government services in Ennis to the floor of a public meeting of his local town council this week, in a move which is expected to receive the unanimous backing of fellow members of the council.

Cllr Tom Prendeville has lashed out at what he calls “the diminuition of services” in the west Clare capital, following the recent move that requires drivers wishing to renew their motor tax to do so by way of the internet only, rather than through a facility that was available to them in Kilrush.

Speaking ahead of his motion before the September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, the Fianna Fáil councillor blasted the decision to remove the motor tax renewal facility from the local Town Hall in Kilrush.

Cllr Prendeville has highlighted what he calls the “lack of consultation” with people in west Clare and its local representatives before the decision to remove the Kilrush facility was made, labelling it evidence of “the centralisation of services to Clare County Council headquarters in Ennis”.

Cllr Prendeville has called on Clare County Council “to restore the motor tax service which was available under the much-vaunted ‘one-stopshop initiative in the Town Hall until recent weeks.

“From now onwards, members of the public are being asked to renew their road tax online, even though a great majority of car-owners don’t have access to internet facilities.

“The removal of the service is an inconvenience to west Clare and is being seen as a further centralisation of services to Áras an Chontae and it is a source of regret that public consultation was not entered into before the service was withdrawn,” he added.