Town in County Clare, Ireland
Town in Munster, Ireland
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1841
| 241
| ?
|
---|
1851
| 196
| ?18.7%
|
---|
1861
| 156
| ?20.4%
|
---|
1871
| 147
| ?5.8%
|
---|
1881
| 95
| ?35.4%
|
---|
1961
| 234
| +146.3%
|
---|
1966
| 1,658
| +608.5%
|
---|
1971
| 3,657
| +120.6%
|
---|
1981
| 7,998
| +118.7%
|
---|
1986
| 8,005
| +0.1%
|
---|
1991
| 7,920
| ?1.1%
|
---|
1996
| 7,940
| +0.3%
|
---|
2002
| 8,561
| +7.8%
|
---|
2006
| 9,222
| +7.7%
|
---|
2011
| 9,673
| +4.9%
|
---|
2016
| 9,729
| +0.6%
|
---|
2022
| 10,256
| +5.4%
|
---|
[1]
[2]
[3]
|
Shannon
(
Irish
:
Sionainn
) or
Shannon Town
(
Baile na Sionnainne
), named after the
river
near which it stands, is a town in
County Clare
,
Ireland
. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the
N19 road
, a spur of the
N18/M18 road
between
Limerick
and
Ennis
. It is the location of
Shannon Airport
, an international airport serving the Clare/Limerick region in the west of Ireland.
It has a population of 10,256 as per the
2022 census
, the second largest town in the county.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Shannon is a
new town
. Spearheaded by
Brendan O'Regan
,
[4]
it was built in the 1960s on reclaimed
marshland
alongside
Shannon Airport
, along with the Shannon Free Zone
Industrial park
.
[5]
The residential areas were intended as a home for the thousands of workers at the airport, surrounding industries and support services. Population growth was never as fast as planned throughout the first few decades of the town's existence. This was partly due to the proximity of 'friendly' places to live, such as
Ennis
town and
Limerick
city, or even the nearby village of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
.
The 'planned' nature of this town did not necessarily result in a successful town. It was lacking in facilities, and the town's
shopping centre
was also of poor design. Shops fronted onto
pedestrian malls
that were originally uncovered, allowing estuary winds and rain to strike at shoppers. The early low-cost housing (tower-block
flats
located in
Drumgeely
, near the airport) was poor-quality
terraced housing
.
Shannon was originally located in the parish of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
, and at first a priest in residence of the airport served the population. In 1966
St. Senan's School
was opened and Mary Immaculate Church was built on Corrib Drive. On 24 December 1967 the
parish of Shannon
was created. For a short period a group of Dominican Sisters of England had a community in the parish. In 1974 they were replaced by the
Sisters of Mercy
. The church of Saints John and Paul was opened in Tullyvarraga in 1980.
[6]
Other churches are the Adoration Chapel in Shannon Town Centre and the Shannon Airport Oratory.
[7]
The Church of Ireland community is served by the Drumcliffe Union and the Methodist community is served by a lay pastor. Shannon is also home of Christian evangelical churches, Shannon Christian Church and New Life Christian Church.
[
citation needed
]
St. John's Church of Ireland School
was the first school established in Shannon in 1962. Christ Church Shannon opened in 1962, also serving members of the reformed faiths, but it is now closed.
Shannon was the manufacturing base of
GAC Ireland
, which built almost all buses for
CIE
during its short existence between 1980 and 1986.
Development
[
edit
]
The population grew in the 1990s, and new modern housing developments were built. Improvements to facilities in the town included the opening of a second major
supermarket
,
Lidl
,
[8]
with the shopping centre being expanded by the addition of the "Skycourt" complex.
[
citation needed
]
The main road through Shannon was remodelled following the opening of the bypass of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
. New units continued to open in the industrial estates.
[
citation needed
]
Education
[
edit
]
Shannon town has six primary schools: St. Tola's, St John's, St Senan's, Gaelscoil Donnacha Rua, St. Conaire's (largest primary school) and St. Aidan's, including a Gaelscoil (Gaelscoil Donncha Rua)
[9]
and a school under the patronage of Church of Ireland (St. Johns NS
[10]
).
There are two second-level education institutes in the town,
St. Patrick's Comprehensive School
and
St. Caimin's Community School
. St. Patrick's Comprehensive School opened in 1966 as Ireland's first comprehensive school. It has been serving the town since and is due an extension to increase its capacity to over 900 pupils.
[
citation needed
]
There is one third level institution in Shannon: the
Shannon College of Hotel Management
, which opened in 1951. Since 2015 it has been an official college of the
National University of Ireland, Galway
.
Economy
[
edit
]
Shannon Free Zone
is Ireland's largest cluster of North American investments. Since its establishment in 1959, more than 110 overseas companies have chosen to open subsidiaries in Shannon. Major companies in Shannon include
Jaguar Land Rover
,
Zimmer Biomet
,
[11]
Element Six
,
Symantec
,
AXA Partners
,
Lufthansa Technik
,
Mentor Graphics
,
RSA Security
,
GE Capital
,
Ingersoll Rand
,
Intel
and
Digital River
.
[12]
Eirjet
's head office was located on the grounds of Shannon Airport.
[13]
Local government and politics
[
edit
]
The town is administered at a local level by
Clare County Council
. In 1982, the town was granted local government under
town commissioners
.
[14]
In 2002, this body became a town council.
[15]
[16]
In 2008, the administrative boundary of the town was extended.
[17]
In 2014, in common with all town councils in Ireland, it was abolished and its functions were transferred to the county council.
[18]
[19]
[20]
In addition, prior to September 2004,
Shannon Development
, a
state-sponsored body
had charge of many services normally provided by local authorities in
Ireland
. This gave Shannon a unique status in local governance. In September 2004 its situation was regularised when Shannon Development transferred its local government functions to
Clare County Council
.
[21]
The company retains responsibility for the
Shannon Free Zone
.
Climate
[
edit
]
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The
Koppen Climate Classification
subtype for this climate is "
Cfb
" (Marine West Coast Climate/
Oceanic climate
).
[22]
The highest temperature ever recorded in Shannon was 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) on 28 June 2018.
[23]
Climate data for Shannon Airport, (1981?2010, extremes 1938?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
14.8
(58.6)
|
15.5
(59.9)
|
20.2
(68.4)
|
23.5
(74.3)
|
27.2
(81.0)
|
32.0
(89.6)
|
30.6
(87.1)
|
30.0
(86.0)
|
27.9
(82.2)
|
23.0
(73.4)
|
18.2
(64.8)
|
16.2
(61.2)
|
32.0
(89.6)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
8.8
(47.8)
|
9.2
(48.6)
|
11.1
(52.0)
|
13.3
(55.9)
|
16.0
(60.8)
|
18.3
(64.9)
|
19.8
(67.6)
|
19.6
(67.3)
|
17.7
(63.9)
|
14.3
(57.7)
|
11.1
(52.0)
|
9.0
(48.2)
|
14.0
(57.2)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
6.0
(42.8)
|
6.2
(43.2)
|
7.8
(46.0)
|
9.5
(49.1)
|
12.1
(53.8)
|
14.6
(58.3)
|
16.4
(61.5)
|
16.2
(61.2)
|
14.2
(57.6)
|
11.2
(52.2)
|
8.3
(46.9)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
10.7
(51.3)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
3.2
(37.8)
|
3.2
(37.8)
|
4.5
(40.1)
|
5.7
(42.3)
|
8.2
(46.8)
|
10.9
(51.6)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
12.7
(54.9)
|
10.8
(51.4)
|
8.2
(46.8)
|
5.5
(41.9)
|
3.6
(38.5)
|
7.4
(45.3)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?11.9
(10.6)
|
?9.8
(14.4)
|
?7.8
(18.0)
|
?4.6
(23.7)
|
?1.7
(28.9)
|
0.9
(33.6)
|
4.4
(39.9)
|
2.8
(37.0)
|
?0.6
(30.9)
|
?3.3
(26.1)
|
?7.2
(19.0)
|
?11.4
(11.5)
|
?11.9
(10.6)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
102.3
(4.03)
|
76.2
(3.00)
|
78.7
(3.10)
|
59.2
(2.33)
|
64.8
(2.55)
|
69.8
(2.75)
|
65.9
(2.59)
|
82.0
(3.23)
|
75.6
(2.98)
|
104.9
(4.13)
|
94.1
(3.70)
|
104.0
(4.09)
|
977.6
(38.49)
|
Average precipitation days
(≥ 0.2 mm)
|
20
|
16
|
19
|
16
|
16
|
15
|
16
|
18
|
16
|
20
|
20
|
19
|
211
|
Average snowy days
|
2.3
|
2.3
|
1.4
|
0.5
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.1
|
1.3
|
8.0
|
Average
relative humidity
(%)
|
80.5
|
74.6
|
70.5
|
64.4
|
63.3
|
65.1
|
68.0
|
68.2
|
69.2
|
75.2
|
80.5
|
83.1
|
71.9
|
Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
49.6
|
65.0
|
99.2
|
153.0
|
179.8
|
156.0
|
139.5
|
139.5
|
117.0
|
89.9
|
60.0
|
43.4
|
1,291.9
|
Mean daily
sunshine hours
|
1.6
|
2.3
|
3.2
|
5.1
|
5.8
|
5.2
|
4.5
|
4.5
|
3.9
|
2.9
|
2.0
|
1.4
|
3.5
|
Source: Met Eireann
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
|
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Shannon is twinned with:
Notable people
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Shannon"
.
Census 2022
.
Central Statistics Office
. Retrieved
26 September
2023
.
- ^
"Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Shannon"
.
Central Statistics Office (Ireland)
. Archived from
the original
on 27 October 2018
. Retrieved
26 October
2018
.
- ^
Central Statistics Office Ireland
and
Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website
. Shannon was not a census form until 1961. Pre 1961 figures include the townlands of Clenagh, Drumline and Rineanna. Post 1986 figures include the environs of Shannon Clenagh.
- ^
"Tributes paid to Clare man who pioneered duty free at Shannon"
.
Irish Times
. 4 February 2008.
- ^
"Shannon - Our Town"
. Shannon.ie. Archived from
the original
on 22 July 2012
. Retrieved
24 July
2010
.
- ^
"Shannon"
. Diocese of Killaloe
. Retrieved
1 April
2014
.
- ^
"Shannon Churches"
. Diocese of Killaloe. Archived from
the original
on 7 April 2014
. Retrieved
1 April
2014
.
- ^
"LIDL"
.
- ^
"Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, Shannon, Co. Clare"
.
www.gdr.ie
. Retrieved
9 June
2016
.
- ^
"St. John's National School, Shannon"
.
www.stjohnsns.org
. Retrieved
9 June
2016
.
- ^
Kelly, Aidan (26 November 2020).
"Zimmer Biomet"
.
Irish Centre for Business Excellence Network
. Retrieved
6 April
2023
.
- ^
An Economic Overview of Ireland’s Shannon Region February 2012
, p. 14]
Archived
14 October 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"
home
."
Eirjet
. 1 July 2006. Retrieved on 15 September 2010.
- ^
Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854 (Shannon) Order 1981 (
S.I. No. 399 of 1981
). Signed on 19 November 1981. Statutory Instrument of the
Government of Ireland
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
.
- ^
Local Government Act 2001
, 6th Sch.: Local Government Areas (Towns) (
No. 37 of 2001, 6th Sch.
). Enacted on 21 July 2001. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 3 August 2022.
- ^
Local Government Act 2001 (Establishment Day) Order 2001 (
S.I. No. 591 of 2001
). Signed on 18 December 2001 by
Noel Dempsey
,
Minister for the Environment and Local Government
. Statutory Instrument of the
Government of Ireland
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 6 November 2022.
- ^
Shannon town Boundary Alteration Order 2008 (
S.I. No. 557 of 2008
). Statutory Instrument of the
Government of Ireland
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
.
- ^
Local Government Reform Act 2014
, s. 24: Dissolution of town councils and transfer date (
No. 1 of 2014, s. 24
). Enacted on 27 January 2014. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
.
- ^
Local Government Reform Act 2014 (Commencement of Certain Provisions) (No. 3) Order 2014 (
S.I. No. 214 of 2014
). Signed on 22 May 2014 by
Phil Hogan
,
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government
. Statutory Instrument of the
Government of Ireland
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
.
- ^
"Shannon Town Council Origins"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 October 2007.
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 November 2007
. Retrieved
16 October
2007
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Climate Summary for Shannon
- ^
"Record Irish temperature could be broken today - says Met Eireann forecaster"
. 29 June 2018.
- ^
"Shannon Airport 1981?2010 averages"
.
Met Eireann
. Retrieved
13 October
2016
.
- ^
"Absolute Maximum Air Temperatures For Each Month At Selected Stations"
(PDF)
.
Met Eireann
. Retrieved
13 October
2016
.
- ^
"Absolute Minimum Air Temperatures For Each Month At Selected Stations"
(PDF)
.
Met Eireann
. Retrieved
13 October
2016
.
- ^
"03962: Shannon Airport (Ireland)"
.
ogimet.com
.
OGIMET
. 8 September 2021
. Retrieved
8 September
2021
.
- ^
"03962: Shannon Airport (Ireland)"
.
ogimet.com
. OGIMET. 12 August 2022
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
"20 ans de souvenirs"
.
Le jumelage de Guingamp et Shannon
(in French)
. Retrieved
11 August
2017
.
- ^
McMahon, Paraic (11 May 2023).
"World famous composer Patrick Cassidy returns to alma mater St Patrick's Comprehensive"
.
www.clareecho.ie
.
Archived
from the original on 11 May 2023
. Retrieved
21 June
2023
.
- ^
"Shannon man for Aras an Uachtaran"
.
www.clarepeople.ie
. 5 April 2011.
Archived
from the original on 9 June 2023
. Retrieved
21 June
2023
.
- ^
"Presenters: Rachael English"
.
RTE
. 19 September 2022.
- ^
"Property: Ger Loughnane"
.
IrishExaminer
. 11 March 2005.
- ^
Cunningham, Kieran (21 January 2023).
"Ger Loughnane on life, death and hurling"
.
Buzz.ie
. Retrieved
10 May
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Shannon
.
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{{|date=24 May 2023}}