Supermac’s founder eyes Ennis motorway project

Businessman Pat McDonogh has applied to Clare County Council for planning permission for a motorway services area off the Ennis bypass.

If successful, the application would provide the only motorway services along the 101km M17/M18 Atlantic corridor between the bypasses of Shannon in Co Clare and Tuam in Co Galway.

The move comes as Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said it would review its own motorway services programme next year.

TII’s decision represents a considerable boost for Mr McDonagh whose previous plans for a motorway services area on his site off the Ennis bypass were the subject of adverse comment by TII.

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The transport body had lobbied the county council to refuse the application, at least in part, it said, because of its own plans for services at nearby Sixmilebridge.

Mr McDonagh, better known as the founder of Supermac’s fast food chain, later withdrew the application.

In October 2017, the authority opened the 57km Gort-to-Tuam stretch of the “Atlantic motorway” at a cost of €550 million. It included the Republic’s first “bat bridge” for wildlife.

Charging points

However, there were no service areas to cater for families with children or commercial traffic. In addition, there were no charging points for electric vehicles on the route, a problem for Ireland’s growing electric car fleet. This week TII confirmed it had not lodged a planning application for its Sixmilebridge site.

Speaking about his proposed services, Mr McDonagh said the development would employ about 115 people and extensive tourism information would be provided in a bid to divert some holidaymakers to visitor attractions in Co Clare.

Mr McDonagh said that since the motorway opened “people zip between Limerick and Galway” without discovering the attractions of the county.

Day trips

Another unforeseen consequence of the motorway programme, he said, was the tendency for tourists to do day trips from Dublin without staying overnight in Co Clare.

“I would see Ennis as the home of traditional music and if we can get people to divert there or to attractions in west Clare it would be an economic boost for the area,” he said.

Mr McDonagh previously developed the Barack Obama Plaza at Moneygall in Co Offaly, off the M7 motorway.