Sir, – It is encouraging in these difficult times that Kerry received €100m and east Clare €40m for roads. No doubt these projects have been on the wish list for some time. My understanding is that an Ennistymon bypass has been on the Co Clare Plan for 60 years.
In fact that same year I arrived in Ennistymon myself and was delivered by the kind Dr Barry (God Rest Him), in Church Street. The Korean war was in full swing and Rodgers Hammerstein’s King I opened on Broadway. In Ireland, Minister for Health Noël Brown resigned and his Mother and Child scheme was overturned.
A lot of water has gone under the Ennistymon Bridge in those 60 years. This is the bridge at Blake’s Corner where my granduncle, Michael Conway was murdered by the forces of the Crown, on July 20th, 1920 – thankfully his ultimate sacrifice is commemorated on the bridge. One of his colleagues in arms, Oweneen Nestor, escaped from the despised Black and Tans at the same time by running in through the front door of Mary Blake’s, hiding his rifle behind the door and escaping out the back. So does this corner and this bridge mean a lot to the people of Ennistymon? You bet.
The plan by Clare County Council to demolish Blake’s Corner is an absolute disgrace. Not only is it a disgrace – it is also stupid as it will not solve the problem of the massive stream of traffic that is coming and going to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s greatest tourist attractions.
The Neros on Clare County Council have fiddled long enough with this and the Government of the land should solve this embarrassment by allotting funds for the logical bypass, 60 years on the books.
As the nations of the world become cookie-cutters of the nation next door and the KFCs /McDonald’s /Holiday Inns make countries indistinguishable from our neighbours, isn’t it time we said “enough” to the destruction of the buildings, customs and icons that make us unique?
I look forward to arriving in Ennistymon for two weeks in September to golf with 11 other Canadian friends. They’re not looking for the KFCs, McDonald’s and Holiday Inns – they are looking for the Blake’s Corners of the Emerald Isle. – Yours, etc,