{"id":666504,"date":"2026-09-01T07:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T07:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/666504\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T07:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T07:31:14","slug":"a-tale-of-two-shannons-housing-estate-after-housing-estate-and-the-lights-go-out-at-9-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/666504\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two Shannons: \u2018Housing estate after housing estate and the lights go out at 9\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no town in Ireland<\/a> quite like Shannon<\/a>. Pinned between an airport and a major industrial zone, Ireland\u2019s first planned town never really had a plan.<\/p>\n

The Co Clare<\/a> town began in the 1960s as a collection of flats on Drumgeely Hill, built to house workers from nearby Shannon Airport<\/a> and the Shannon Free Zone.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the number of homes grew significantly, but without much consideration being paid to the town forming around them.<\/p>\n

These days Shannon has a population of more than 10,000 people, similar in size to Castlebar or Wicklow town, but lacks many of the amenities and a traditional town centre that other towns take for granted.<\/p>\n

Shannon also habitually has the highest commercial vacancy rate of any settlement in the country, currently standing at 34.9 per cent, according to An Post<\/a>\u2019s property database service GeoDirectory published last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But in reality, there are two Shannons. <\/p>\n

There is the town struggling for amenities and a nearby industrial zone that is flush with new development and investment.<\/p>\n

The challenge, it seems, is connecting the two.<\/p>\n

Although Shannon town has no centre, it certainly has a heart. In the 1960s, the new town was a cosmopolitan place, made up of a mixture of people fleeing the Troubles in Northern Ireland<\/a> and skilled workers from all over the world.<\/p>\n

These people came together, often out of adversity, and forged an esprit de corps that is uniquely Shannon.<\/p>\n

Derek Clune has been living in Shannon for more than 50 years. Chairperson of the local Tidy Towns group and Men\u2019s Shed, he is part of the first generation of Shannon residents who have reached retirement age.<\/p>\n

Clune is also a board member of the Shannon Community Network, a grassroots group set up to help push for a better future for the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vacancy rate has a huge negative impact on the local people. It stops them from coming together as a community. People are so used to going to Limerick<\/a> and Ennis to do their shopping or to socialise. They are using Shannon as a place to sleep,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in Shannon is that people formed groups in their own areas. That made the town more fractured and until we have a town centre that is going to be the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe young people don\u2019t socialise here. There is no nightclub in Shannon; they all go to Ennis. This is a town with a lot of young people and no facilities for them. There isn\u2019t a clothes shop in Shannon; there isn\u2019t a shoe shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out there are just two pubs for a population of more than 10,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go into any town or village in the country, you can say: \u2018I\u2019m going down to my local for a pint\u2019, and there you will meet your friends and neighbours. You can see that in every small town in Ireland. But we don\u2019t have that in Shannon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA view of an Air Lingus and Pan Am planes at Shannon Airport on October 1, 1963 in Shannon, Ireland. Photograph: Ponzini Family\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

In 2004, the governance for Shannon transferred from Shannon Development to Clare County Council. Over the last 20 years, a number of masterplans have been drawn up for the town, without ever being fully implemented.<\/p>\n

The current plan includes provision for the One Shannon project, which will provide a central thoroughfare, with public amenities, an entertainment venue and commercial units.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Shannon Town Masterplan has great aspirations but it is looking like a lot of other masterplans which are just sitting on the shelf gathering dust,\u201d says Donna McGettigan, a Clare Sinn F\u00e9in TD who moved to Shannon from Belfast in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the industrial side and then there is the town. The town is slow enough; there are some vacancies. But the industrial estate is going really, really well. There is a lot of new units, a lot of money going into it. But you don\u2019t really see that from the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go to the industrial zone, you drive in and you just see a line of trees on either side of you. You can\u2019t even see the town. A lot of people up there have never been into the town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DerekDerek Clune in Shannon, Co Clare. Photograph: Eugene McCafferty <\/p>\n

[\u00a0A \u2018high-level\u2019 arrival like no other: What to expect during Donald Trump\u2019s visit to IrelandOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In recent years, some initiatives, including a subsidised bike rental scheme, have been put in place to entice workers in the industrial zones into the town.<\/p>\n

However, according to Clune, the town first needs to have more to offer them.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo encourage people to come from the industrial estates into the town centre, you have to have something for them. There is no point encouraging them to come in, if there is nothing there, they won\u2019t come back,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople these days expect to get a nice restaurant or cafe and good service, a good quality product. People have come in [from the industrial estates] over the years, but why would they come back?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the plan [Shannon master plan] looks spectacular. It would be the making of the town but the political will from the politicians or from the local authority is not there yet. We are still pushing for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t happen now, will we just have another master plan in 10 years\u2019 time?\u201d<\/p>\n

Helen Downes, chief executive of Shannon Chamber, says Shannon town \u201chas not always benefited visibly from the economic success taking place around it\u201d.<\/p>\n

She says commercial vacancies \u201caffect perceptions and confidence, but there is now an opportunity to change that\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some locals, including McGettigan, feel that the vacant units could be put into more productive use, such as providing space for local organisations or community groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes people say Shannon is just an industrial town. It is housing estate after housing estate and the lights go out at 9 o\u2019clock at night. There is that feeling,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you have high vacancy rates and you have community groups who need spaces, there can be some frustration there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of amenities, community groups in Shannon still manage to thrive.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Muse Productions and the Shannon Musical Society won both the top awards at the Association of Irish Music Societies Awards \u2013 the first time ever that groups from one town have won both awards.<\/p>\n

With a father from Donegal and a mother from England, Martin McNelis from Muse Productions is a product of the Shannon melting pot.<\/p>\n

He understands the challenges the community faces but also the potential for the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real community here in Shannon,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for us in the arts would be a theatre. Clare County Council<\/a> are talking about a new space called the One Shannon Hub [part of the One Shannon project], which would incorporate a theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very hopeful that this will come to pass. We have been burned before, but we are still hopeful that this will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ShannonShannon town centre. Photograph: Eamon Ward <\/p>\n

A spokesperson from Clare County Council<\/a> described the One Shannon project as \u201cthe key transformational project\u201d for the town and said that an application to fund the project was submitted to the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund in May of this year.<\/p>\n

Despite a number of false starts over the years, Clune is still hopeful Shannon will soon have a centre to match the heart in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cShannon is a great place to live. There is plenty of green space, the schools are brilliant, the recreational facilities are great. But there has been something missing for a long time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been in Shannon for 50 years and it is still missing.\u201d <\/p>\n

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