Owen Ryan

1 week ago | clarechampion.ie | Owen Ryan

Every hotel room in Clare will be filled by the 2027 Ryder Cup and it is set to give a permanent boost to tourism in a county that has some of Ireland’s best golf courses. That is the view of local hoteliers, who are predicting an extraordinary boost when one of the world’s top sporting events comes to Ireland. Also this week saw speculation that Doonbeg is among the options being considered to host the 2026 Irish Open, with the Trump family apparently keen to bring it to West Clare.

1 week ago | clarechampion.ie | Owen Ryan

Ninety one Clare County Council owned properties are left vacant across Clare, new figures presented by Sinn Féin this week show. Of the 91 that are vacant, 43 have been empty for less than six months. Twenty three are vacant for between six months and a year, seven are vacant for 12-18 months and the remaining 18 have been vacant for 18-24 months. Speaking about the vacancies, the party’s Clare TD Donna McGettigan said that leaving properties idle for up to two years is a disgrace.

1 week ago | changingireland.ie | Owen Ryan

The Balbriggan Great Places and Spaces Map was the winner of the best mental health initiative at the Local Authorities Members Association (LAMA) awards. The initiative was driven by Thrive Balbriggan which describes itself as a community-led project “to create a happy and healthy place to live by conducting projects and events aiming at improving mental health and wellbeing”. It has been up and running since 2021.

1 week ago | clarechampion.ie | Owen Ryan

Wind turbines being installed around the county are far too high and are causing conflict in communities, which could be avoided if proper guidelines were introduced. That was the message from councillors at Clare County Council this week, as a lengthy discussion on the issue of windfarms saw many complaints that guidelines for their development have not been updated since 2006.

1 week ago | clarechampion.ie | Owen Ryan

With large scale housing development impossible in communities all over Clare because of the lack of wastewater infrastructure, Councillor Joe Garrihy (FG) called for developer-led modular wastewater plants to be allowed. He said that he doesn’t feel that Clare can wait for Uisce Éireann to come up with long term solutions that won’t be delivered for years. “I don’t think we can wait for it here, end of story.