text: A KILNAMONA-based couple, who operate a tourism business, have to run it from a variety of cafés in Ennis, due to the lack of broadband where they live.
  Henry Wilkinson has told The Clare Champion that they would not have moved to Kilnamona had they been aware that broadband access was an issue.
  “Had we known back in December that there was no broadband in the area, we would not have taken a year’s lease. My fiancée and I recently moved to the area to be closer to her parents. We run our own tourism-based business and urgently need access to fast, reliable broadband,” Mr Wilkinson explained.
  “Over the past four months, we have been making daily trips to Ennis to sit in coffee shops and try and run our business, which is expensive and not ideal. Where do we go from here? Will broadband be made available next week, next month or next year? Somebody must have an answer and what do we do in the meantime?” he queried.
  Mr Wilkinson is concerned that young couples, who cannot access broadband in rural areas, will be forced to live in towns as a result.
  “As there is a phone line in the house and we live in the age of the computer, we presumed we could get broadband through the phone line. There can’t be too many young couples willing to live in rural Ireland these days. Will we have to join the other young couples and return to urban living, allowing another rural area to degenerate?” he asked before saying that satellite broadband is not an option.
  “Satellite broadband is not an option. We have spoken to the neighbours who use it and they say it is unreliable and very expensive,” Mr Wilkinson pointed out.
  AN innovative marketing strategy has been unveiled by the independent Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) to dramatically increase the stay time of thousands of visitors to Clare.
  SAA chairman Rose Hynes said the new Shannon Group will market the airport and the former Shannon Heritage visitor attractions, such as Bunratty Castle, King John’s Castle in Limerick and the shop in the Cliffs of Moher, in a far more coherent way. She said the group is also focused on increasing the length of stay for visitors travelling to Clare; trying to move away from the reliance on day trips to the big attractions.
  Boosted by the Ryanair announcement of the delivery of 300,000 extra passengers by the end of next year, with eight new routes starting next April, Ms Hynes said airport managers would try to sell tickets for their visitor attractions when they are marketing the airport abroad.
  “We are going to do a variety of things here at the airport. It is no one thing over another. We are not relying on one airline because we have grown the overall pie here at the airport.
  She revealed the airport is already planning to organise roadshows in the new destinations to encourage people to visit Shannon. Airport officials will also be working with tour operators in other destinations to make them aware of increased access and connectivity to the region.
  “We will be marketing the region and the airport in a much different all-encompassing way. We will be working hard to drive people to the West of Ireland.
  “If you want to visit the West of Ireland, the message is you fly into Shannon. We are marketing it on that basis. An increase in passengers serves all of our purposes. The whole marketing focus has changed. With Shannon having more additional routes and autonomy since independence to market itself in the manner it sees best; I think that will make a big difference,” she said.
  In a declaration of a new approach by Shannon Airport management, Ms Hynes said, “We are working with the tourism agencies in a totally different way because we can market the airport in the way which suits us best. There is a new focus on how Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland work with Shannon Airport. We have a whole new working relationship with them, so things have completely changed.”
  The airport authority chairman stated Tourism Ireland chief executive officer, Niall Gibbons, had been informed about the eight new routes when he was in the United States last week.
  Ms Hynes confirmed the development of the new multi-million International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) is firmly on track, following the appointment of aviation strategist, Patrick Edmond, as its new managing director. In fact, she expects to have some significant announcements in the not too distant future in relation to the IASC.
  The IASC will focus on further developing the existing 40 aviation-related businesses, currently employing 1,600 people, at Shannon into a globally significant aerospace cluster.
  As well as leading the IASC, Mr Edmond will also be responsible for the new Shannon Group’s overall corporate strategy. This is, essentially, the development of a whole cluster aviation services in Shannon and driving that forward.
  Mr Edmond has extensive experience in the aviation industry, spanning two decades worldwide. He was most recently founder and managing director of aviation strategy consultancy e2consult.
  Ms Hynes said Shannon Group has already started negotiations with several different entities to develop a cluster of aviation services, which would take time to fully conclude. She estimated it could take three to five years before it is developed to its full potential.
  “This will involve growing existing industry in Shannon, clustering together new aviation services to attract in new associated enterprises and get entrepreneurs to carry out initiatives in the aviation industry.
  “We have filled all of our existing hangars and we are now looking at new hangars. A masterplan has also been drawn up,” she said.
  Finance Minister Michael Noonan introduced new tax incentives for building hangars and other aviation developments in the last budget.
  Asked what is the benefit of not having to second guess or secure approval for major decisions with the Dublin Airport Authority, she said it made an “enormous difference” as the SAA could now be more responsive.
  “Shannon is now in control of its own destiny and can decide what deal best suits its needs, with all the emphasis on its own arrangements.”
  She pointed out airport managers no longer have to think of the impact of major decisions on the three State airports. She was delighted that Shannon was “first out of the blocks” to respond to Ryanair’s reaction to the abolition of the travel tax.
  “This will provide a major boost to the passenger numbers in Shannon. It is also a major boost to tourism and business in the region.”
  She said the airport wants to work with all interested stakeholders in the region, to make new and existing routes a success.
  “We said we would grow passenger numbers at Shannon. We started with the transatlantic passengers and had significant success to date with that. Today [Ryanair’s new routes launch] is about the European routes and this is a significant boost for Shannon and we are growing our European passengers, as we said we would.
  “It is important from an inbound perspective because it boosts tourism but also gives options on the outbound side,” she added.
  She described 2014 as a significant tourism year, as Limerick celebrates its designation as the City of Culture, while major celebrations are planned to mark the 1000th anniversary of the death of High King of Ireland, Brian Boru. There is also the continued development of the Wild Atlantic Way.
  Retention of slots for Irish airports must be pre-requisite in any IAG take-over of Aer Lingus, a leading industrial figure in Shannon has warned. Mr Ken Sullivan, an executive director of Element Six, said that the ability to attract further investment into the region will be undermined by any threat to Shannon-Heathrow slots. He said that Government must make retention of slots for Shannon, as well as Cork and Dublin, a prerequisite for its agreement to any deal. “This region is every bit as dependent now on Shannon-Heathrow services as it was back in 2007 when the Shannon slots were moved temporarily to Belfast. The business community here united in opposition to that move and this time around the threat is not just to Shannon but also Cork and Dublin,” said Mr Sullivan, who was vice chairman of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance – the group of business and tourism representatives that came together to seek the restoration of Shannon Heathrow …
  Clare TD and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Transport, Timmy Dooley is calling on the Transport Minister to rule out any sale of the Government’s stake in Aer Lingus in order to protect Ireland’s strategic national interests. IAG has come forward with a third offer for the carrier, believed to be worth €2.50 a share. Any such sale could see Aer Lingus’ critical Heathrow slots siphoned off, risking future connectivity and jobs at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. “IAG’s pursuit of Aer Lingus is becoming more aggressive with every passing week, and I am gravely concerned by the Minister Paschal Donohoe’s silence on the issue. I’m calling on him to categorically rule out any sale of the Government’s 25% stake in Aer Lingus, and by doing so effectively block the IAG takeover. The fallout from any sale of the airline is being dramatically underplayed,” he said. Continuing, Deputy Dooley said,“The threat to the valuable Heathrow slots could see Ireland’s access to international …
  Following the announcements of recent approaches to Aer Lingus by IAG, the Irish Takeover Panel has deemed that Aer Lingus is now in an ‘offer period’, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe said on Tuesday evening. He was speaking in the Dáil in response to a joint submission by Deputies Michael McNamara, Timmy Dooley, Joe Carey and Kieran O’Donnell on the necessity to maintaining London Heathrow slots to ensure balanced development. “The Takeover Panel Rules in relation to communications apply to all parties during such an offer period and all parties, including the Government as shareholder, must apply the highest standards of care to any statements made on the matter. Specifically shareholders must take care in any of their communications to avoid revealing any information that could potentially impact either positively or negatively on the Aer Lingus share price,” Minister Donohoe said. Currently, no formal offer has been made to Aer Lingus’ shareholders. The minister said he wanted …
  CLARE is set to reap the benefits from Shannon Airport’s enhanced 2014 summer season schedule, with research on passenger destinations from last year illustrating the airport’s influence on visitor numbers to the county. Shannon Airport has nine new services this year on European destinations – Ryanair with Munich, Paris, Faro, Warsaw, Krakow, Nice, Poitiers, Berlin, Fuerteventura and Aer Lingus Regional with Bristol – alone, many with very strong markets for inbound tourism. Critically also, following the growth of transatlantic services last year, US frequencies have also dramatically increased this year, bringing greater numbers again of US tourists, who on average spend 60% more than any others, into Clare. The last two weeks alone saw the resumption of United Airline’s Chicago service (daily from June), which on the back of its success last summer will have 88% additional capacity this year. The past fortnight also saw Delta Airlines back with its daily JFK New York service, US Airways return with its …
  By Owen Ryan SHANNON Airport representatives were in New York to promote Aer Lingus’ first year round service to the Big Apple since 2009. Shannon Airport Chair Rose Hynes and Marketing Manager Marie Slattery led the delegation and during the four-day visit they held meetings with New York based business interests and investors with regard to the activities of the wider Shannon Group. Ms Hynes said that the American market for services into the West of Ireland is heating up. “We have had a tremendous response from the trade, which is our key audience this week, as well as US media. There is a particular demand from the US for services into the western half of the country and Shannon because of the uniqueness of the product we have. “Shannon is, of course, the only airport on the entire Atlantic coast with direct access from the US and we are delighted to have strengthened the services this year again. The …
  The Town and Village Renewal Scheme for 2017 has bee launched by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Heather Humphreys. As part of the Action Plan for Rural Development, towns and villages across the country are set to benefit from €20 million in funding from the scheme. The Scheme is part of the Government’s commitment to ensure that the benefits of economic recovery are felt in every part of the country. As part of that commitment, and as a key support for the retail sector under the Action Plan for Jobs 2017, Minister Mitchell O’Connor will launch the Framework for Town Centre Renewal at the end of the month. This is the second year of the scheme and will see up to 300 towns and villages benefit from funding from the department. Proposals for funding will have to support sustainable, economic development in their locality.
  I have been working the last two days on costumes with the Monster Burlesque team and next week make the last push to finish my costume for Costume Showcase. Monster Burlesque has it's final dress rehearsal on Wednesday and starts on Thursday.
  "Love Conquer is an outstanding inspired, slow-burn romance filled with heartache, passion, and raw intensity." - Christy Pastore, Author
  "I have enjoyed all three books in this series but WOW this book blew me away. My favorite yet." - Heather (Amazon)
  "I love this book! It has so much depth and feeling that it grabs me from the get-go." - N (Goodreads)
  "Ah! The best one so far. A deep, emotional, touching romance that still retains the classic humour and fast-paced style we have come to know and love Cary Hart for." - Bella (Amazon)
  "From the first word, Love Conquer had me hooked & captivated! Cary Hart can express so much emotion & feeling with the written word." - Pam (Goodreads).
  “Author Cary Hart taps into human emotion in such a way that allows the reader to immerse themselves completely into the story. This is a powerful read about triumph and discovery. I highly recommend it to everyone!” – For the Love of Books & Alcohol
  What happens when something you were not looking for comes along, and it's more than you ever could have imagined?
  Believe it or not, writing was never a dream for Cary. Reading was something she never enjoyed growing up. All it took was one friend, who went MIA for a weekend on a book binge, to share her passion and loan an eBook, lighting a fire inside her. Two years, and hundreds of eBooks later, she connected with one of her favorite authors, who patiently listened to her plot ideas. Her encouragement and saying those three little words “You write it!” changed everything!
  Labels: battle, battlefield of love, blog, blogger, book, book 3, cary hart, fiction, love, love conquer, new release, romance, series
  CLASP has been working with AGMA Civil Contingencies to develop a short guide to climate resilience for small and medium sized businesses.
  01/11/1980	 40134(Banker)	 Cumbrian Mountain Express	 The loco was used as a banker for 46229, from Near Stainforth - Carlisle	
  09/12/1981	 40171 + 25292 + 40095 + 40134 + 40178 (All withdrawn)	 Springs Branch Depot - Swindon Works	 To Gloucester Yard. Loco shown arrived on the 14/12/81 at Swindon Works. Was it recessed in Gloucester Yard for five days? Can anyone narrow this down?