R476 road closures Kilfenora to Lisdoonvarna

Contractors working for Clare County Council will be carrying out road works in July on the approach to Kilfenora from Lisdoonvarna direction (R476).

From 12th July 2021 to 16th July 2021 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m, re-surfacing  work will start near the junction with the L5290 at Ballykeel North progressing down part of the hill descending towards Kilfenora – see the red section on the map below.

Probably on Wednesday, re-surfacing will also commence on the section of the R476 exiting from Kilfenora (shown in orange on the map), with the intention of concluding by Friday evening.

The Council state that local access will be maintained for residents within the site at all times.

The recommended diversion route for general traffic is to use the N67 (Lisdoonvarna to Ennistymon) and then the R481 towards Kilfenora.

Further details can be found here.

Later still (no date set as yet), 2 kilometres of improvement work is due to be carried out on the L1120 from the turning out of Kilfenora off the R476 (by Fair Green) towards Noughaval.

For the first time in many years, a concerted effort is being made to improve our village’s appearance, and to enter the Tidy Towns competition – for which we need to be ready by 2 July.

The Kilfenora Tidy Towns team is calling on members of the community to help, and is launching an ‘Adopt a Flower Bed’ initiative.

Councillor Joe Garrihy is kindly sponsoring the purchase of plants – thanks Joe! – but community help is needed to weed and prepare 7 flower beds, 4 on the approach road from Ennis/Corofin and three on the Lisdoonvarna Road.

One household has already adopted beds 1 and 2 – see pictures below – but please bidto help with the rest! Call Dena on 087 761 8318 to choose your bed(s) and for any more information.

What’s needed is just weeding and preparing the bed for planting any time before Thursday 24 June (after which the Team will organise planting).  Please take a before-and-after picture of the flower bed you adopted and post that on the Kilfenora Online or Tidy Towns facebook page, or email it to [email protected].

Just so you know, apart from rescuing these flower beds, the intention is to install planters in Kilfenora Square and at Inchovea Church, and put plants in the bed on the Ennistymon approach road. Flower beds are already in place at the West entrance to the Cathedral.

Keep up to date with work being done by Kilfenora Development and the tidy towns team by visiting this website, and on facebook and Instagram (@likfenora_tidy_towns).

@KilfenoraTidytown @TheBurrenCentre @anTaisce @theNationalTrustforIreland @GreenerClare

A grant of €29,950 has been made by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a conservation study of Kilfenora Cathedral. The purpose is to define necessary restoration works, and also to identify ways to develop and widen public access to the Cathedral for heritage, cultural and community use.

This is one of 139 grants totalling €4m announced by Minister Malcolm Noonan, TD on 16 June.

The grant application was made by Rev Kevin O’Brien, with the help of Kilfenora Development and Clare Co Council. The work will be carried out by specialist conservation architects Paul Arnold and Associates.

Kilfenora Cathedral has been closed for use for several years, and has suffered some deterioration internally and externally. It is sad that the fine interior of this important national monument, a community resource for over 830 years, has been shut to visitors and the community. However that should change.

It was recommended to Kilfenora Development and the Church of Ireland that a professional study is a necessary precursor to getting a further grant for the restoration work.

Some of the eroded plasterwork can be seen on the left
In addition the study will examine ways for the Cathedral to be used by the village of Kilfenora, and how enough income can be generated to pay for its upkeep. The intention is to maintain the building as a place of worship, but also to improve its usability for various community and tourism purposes.

Rev Kevin O’Brien is keen for example that It can be used again as a concert venue – as it has been during the Kilfenora Trad Fest – and as a showcase for local talent and young musicians. “In the absence of a local CoI congregation, it is really for the Kilfenora community to embrace this unique building and make best use of it.”

Both to oversee the project and manage the Cathedral in future, a steering group – and eventually perhaps a board of trustees – will need to be formed by the various stakeholders, including our community of course, within the next few months.

In the meantime, the Burren Centre plans to start guided tours of the village for visitors – with the Cathedral, celtic crosses and Holy Well as core attractions – offering a rewarding and relaxed experience for those escaping from the overcrowding at the coast and the Cliffs.

In due course, once repair works have eventually been done, it is hoped that it will be possible to re-open the Cathedral interior on a regular basis.