News

The ‘Clare Stages’ motor rally will take place on Sunday 24 September “and will transverse some of the most scenic parts of the Burren Landscape in North Clare” state the organisers (Clare Motor Club). It comprises three routes, repeated three times, totalling 110km.

This will involve the closure of a significant number of roads, including some in the Kilfenora area. Click the links below to see the routes.

• Route 1: Boston to Carran including the popular scenic viewing point above Glencolumbcille
• Route 2 winds around the back of Caherconnell, past Poulawack cairn to Noughaval; swings north towards Cahermacnaghten fort; then veers south endingon the Kilfenora-Lisdoonvarna road
• Route 3: Kennedy’s Cross to Ballynacarragh, then south to Willbrook and ends in Corofin.

Road closures and restrictions also include several roads adjacent to the rally routes. Residents affected either need to vacate or will be unable to move that day between 8.20am and 5.45pm.

Information on the rally has only come to light recently, as there has been no communication programme with community organisations or tourism businesses in the area, including the official visitor information point at the Burren Visitor Centre. An obscure and hard-to-interpret proposal notice can be found on the Clare County Council website here, posted in late August, which was where the route maps were found – the closing date for any objections was last Friday.

Motorsport fans will no doubt be delighted at the rally’s return after four year’s absence, post-Covid.

However they will be few in number as for safety and access reasons this is not a spectator event. Those able to see the rally will primarily be residents on the rally routes confined to their homes. Some local residents have stated that they objected strongly to the rally when initially approached by the rally organisers, as – apart from the personal disruption caused – they regarded the use of these type of roads as completely inappropriate. Unsurprisingly there is some shock to hear the event has been given permission to go ahead among those residents actually aware of this.

Also up in arms are the minority of tour guides who have actually heard about the rally. These include guides with long-established businesses leading walking and cycling tours, given that the routes and access roads use parts of designated and widely advertised Burren cycling and walking trails. The financial losses they will occur runs into €1000s. Other tour guides, self-guided tourists and visitors passing through will not get advance notice, and may be in for a rude shock on the day.

There is of course currently widespread protest about road safety and poor traffic management in the North Clare area. As Corofin councillor Joe Killeen said this week on Clare FM, there is pent-up frustration among community groups that their concerns about such issues have not been respected over recent years. Adding fuel to the fire is the failure to manage the side-effects of heavily promoting the Cliffs of Moher. On top of the congestion on coast roads there is an explosive increase in traffic on the Burren interior routes that the rally will use, as tourist cars and buses get guided down single-track roads by Google maps because they are still rated at 80kph; “this rally is adding insult to injury”, one resident commented. In the wake of the tragic killing of Jerry O’Connor in Ballyvaughan, rising anger is also leading to direct action such as re-painting speed signs.

These points of concern, and more, were aired at the recent inaugural meeting of the Transport and Road Safety working party set up by the North Clare Communities Group, formed to enable collective action by 20 village community groups. One of the topics mentioned was the degradation of local roads due to the upsurge in traffic, putting greater pressure on overstretched maintenance resources; a high-speed motor rally may not help. The meeting was not actually aware of Council officials’ apparent approval of the rally – that was discovered later.

Note also the current pressures by the National Government on local authorities to adopt responsible environmental policies. This includes reduced vehicle emissions, supporting more walking and cycling, and reducing the need for car-based tourism by greater provision of non-fossil fuel public transport.

Clearly this should lead to a lively debate with Councillors about priorities. It is perhaps ironic that the motor rally has been approved to take place on National Walking Day.

As has been well publicised in the local and national media, social enterprise Common Knowledge has taken over what was formerly the Boghill Centre. It offers a range of courses in practical skills from building to gardening, with accommodation and food as needed. It also seeks to engage with its adjoining communities, Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora.

To that end it is offering a limited number of free places for Kilfenora residents (and Lisdoonvarna too) to attend a special Open Day on Saturday 12 August (12-5pm), on a first come first served basis. All tickets for general attendees are sold out.

The Open Day is called The School for Lost Skills, subtitled “Re-kindling the lost skills of building, food, culture and land”. It will kick off with a discussion panel chaired by Anja Murray and featuring some other well-known personalities – Darina Allen of Ballyamaloe House, gardening expert Mary Reynolds and the writer and TV programme maker Manchán Magan. That initial session will also be live-streamed on the internet.

For more details see https://www.ourcommonknowledge.org/lostskills . If you want to book your free place, scroll down to the booking section.

As part of the same initiative, Common Knowledge is staging a 4-day skills course for €680 plus booking fee, with accommodation onsite available for attendees. Full details and booking are available using the same link.

It is extremely rare for public bodies to undertake thorough local consultation. (They tend to use consultants and/or surveys, and generally keep their distance.) But this is exactly what Clare Local Development Company is doing this April – see their website here.

Kilfenora is first on the list of eight locations in Clare where CLDC is inviting local residents to help them devise their plan of activities for 2023-17. (See below if you are not aware of what CLDC is and does.) Note that Kilfenora has benefitted from CLDC support over the years – for example they have funded enhancements to the Burren Centre such as the Kilfenora Céilí Band Parlour and the current improvement works at the front part of the building.

On Tuesday 4 April CLDC is running a consultation workshop open to ALL residents in Kilfenora, from 7-9pm in Kilfenora Community Hall. They want to hear our ideas on how to make Clare a better place for all, in which to live, work and socialise, and of course we can state what we feel is important for our particular area.

The format is simple. After a 10-minute overview by CLDC (and a 6-minute case study video), participants will break into groups facilitated by a CLDC staff member to discuss priorities to be included in the next LEADER plan.

Even if you don’t have a particular bee in your bonnet about what needs improving, please come and join the discussion in what should be a stimulating occasion – participate in letting Kilfenora’s voice be heard.

About CLDC
The mission of CLDC is to support – through advice and project funding- social inclusion, enterprise, rural and community development, both from its own resources and in collaboration with other agencies. Formed 21 years ago, CLDC employs over 200 people on a wide range of programs and schemes such as LEADER, SICAP (Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme) Local Training Initiatives, Rural Social Scheme, Community Employment Scheme and Rural Recreation Project and Tús.

Its ethos is inclusive and community led – building the capacity of people and communities to address their own development needs; and working in partnership with community groups and other local bodies to deliver the best outcomes for the county.