250 Cruisers Visiting on Saturday

 Below, please see information email received by Flor McCarthy notifying us of 6 coaches arriving into town this Saturday morning, the 12^th at 10.15am.  

--   Mick Hanly

******

Hello Flor

I am writing to advise that we will have 6 coaches with approx 250 persons on board visit Clonakilty on Saturday morning, May 12^th.

The coaches are due to arrive at 10:15am and after coffee in various locations, the guests will have about 1 hour’s free time.

All guests are visiting from the Quest for Adventure cruise ship which will be docked in Ringaskiddy.  They are on a 1 day call to Cork.

I would appreciate if you could advise all retail stores of the group’s arrival so they are all open and ready for business.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

Fran Morgan (Ms.)

Managing Director

 

Clon in the Irish Times

You may also be interested in this great pitch on Clon in the Times, by Chamber member Michael McCarthy:-

It really is a super piece (link) and an extract is below:

There was a great buzz around the town today for the launch of Clonakilty Favour Exchange. It’s a grass roots concept where members can exchange labour and skills without exchanging money. Instead you add to or draw from a time bank, with strict credit and debit limits. The flyers tell me that “ The only requirement for membership is goodwill” It says a lot about the town where I live.

Clonakilty has a long record of generating goodwill projects. It was the first Fairtrade Town in Ireland. Its Sustainable Clonakilty organisation aims to have the area energy independent by 2020 and its myriad of festivals depend on the goodwill of their organisers. All voluntary, ground up initiatives.

 Goodwill is something that’s abundant in this little corner of Ireland. People you don’t know will salute you going down the street because they might have seen you before. Strangers will stop you on the street to tell you the latest sporting success for the town, to talk about the weather, or nothing in particular.

You know when you go somewhere, you can get a good sense for the place in the first few minutes? Here, there is an easy welcoming feeling that makes you want to stay. And stay people have. There is an eclectic mix of the new, outside influence (including my wife and I) alongside the local and traditional. It creates a sense grounded creativity and energy that’s warm and inviting. You can’t quantify it or describe it, you have to feel it...

Read the full article linked here.

Deadline: Clon’Trepreneur of the Year 2012

Just a final reminder to all those budding moguls out there that the closing date for applications to our Clon’Trepreneur of the Year 2012 competition is this coming Friday the 11^th May 2012.

We have already received a number of applications with a very broad range of business ideas.  Don’t be fraught with indecision and then regret not having put in your idea.  If you have an idea or know someone with a good idea, do send it into us.  The application form can be downloaded in .PDF format from the www.clonakilty.ie website or I can email  a Microsoft Word version on request.

Cork Chamber Quashes Toll Concerns

 

PRESS RELEASE

9 May 2012

Chamber Quashes Toll Concerns 

Cork Chamber Chief Executive Conor Healy today quashed concerns that tolling would be introduced on the Jack Lynch Tunnel (JLT) following the National Roads Authority (NRA) advice to Cork City Council that combining the operation and maintenance of the JLT and the Dublin Port Tunnel into a single private contract would bring efficiencies and cost savings. 

Mr. Healy said, “Cork Chamber welcomes any moves by the NRA to introduce cost savings and efficiencies and if privatisation of the JLT delivers this for the taxpayer, it is to be welcomed. The Chamber is not at all concerned that privatisation will lead to tolls in light of the firm announcement made by Minister Varadkar in January that tolls will not be applied to the JLT. Ultimately, the NRA has to take policy direction from the Minister with regards to any such decision and the Chamber is confident that following the intensive lobbying campaign of the Minister and other stakeholders it pursued over 2011, that this is not a reality and based purely on speculation”.

“Clearly should the management of the JLT be outsourced, a consultation with stakeholders regarding timing of maintenance works would need to continue to ensure that trading activities are not adversely impacted”, added Mr. Healy.

“A comprehensive integrated transport survey of the Chamber’s 1000 members, employing 95,000 in the Cork region carried out in 2011, showed that 68,000 drivers would be penalized every day and congestion chaos would ensue throughout Cork City and its suburbs on a daily basis if a toll on the JLT were to be introduced. The cost of the additional congestion and delay was estimated by the Chamber to be in the order of up to 4 times the revenues generated by any JLT toll. Based on this robust evidence based data presented by the Chamber to decision makers, we are assured that the Minister and elected representatives from the Cork region are fully aware of the negative effects such a blunt instrument would result in for the region”, concluded Mr. Healy. 

Ends

For further information please contact:

Conor Healy, Chief Executive, Cork Chamber, tel (021) 4509044/ (087) 9471858 
Alma Murnane, Policy & Research Manager, Cork Chamber, tel (021) 4509044/ (087) 7972839

The Pig Turns

Dear Chamber Member,

Following a personal inspection, I can confirm that the pig is being griddled as we speak.  However given its girth, it will take a bit longer to cook so it’ll be about 7.15pm before it ready for plating. I still have tickets to spare and will have them with me this evening.  I’ll swap them for money!!  I’m out of the office for the rest of the day, but I can be contacted at 086-8747558.

I’ve also received the following request for some photos from Irene in the Quality Hotel, which someone may be able help out with.  If you can oblige, please reply direct to Irene at iocallaghan@qualityhotels.ie

---  Mick Hanly

------------------------------------------------------

Hi Mick,

I don’t know if you are the right person to contact but I have a query which you might be able to help me out with.  We need a picture of a local watersport or beach but as this picture will be reproduced in the Choice hotel directory and distributed worldwide, we need to ensure that we have full permission to use it and that there is no copyright issue.  Do you have any other picture on file that we could use or contact the owners for permission?  It would need to be high resolution ( at least 2mb)

Any help would be appreciated!

---  Irene O'Callaghan, Sales & Marketing Manager

Quality Hotel & Leisure Club, Clonakilty, West Cork.

Tel. +353 (0)23 88 36400, Fax. +353 (0)23 88 35404

https:// www.qualityhotelclonakilty.ie

Clonakilty Favour Exchange Public Launch, Friday 4th May

I am writing to notify the members of the Chamber of Commerce of the above event and to say that we'll be having a press call at 3pm in O' Donovan's Hotel on Friday 4th to which you and other members would be most welcome  The economist Constantin Gurdgiev will be joining us on the day to help promote the scheme and offer some words of encouragement.  It'll also be an opportunity for people to ask questions. (details here)

Otherwise we'll have an information stall at the market earlier in the day, have a little music and generally be promoting good cheer and good will!

At 5 pm we'll be going over to Richys for tapas and refreshment - so members will be very welcome to join us there for some fun prior to the evening's Spit Roast.  

Information about the Favour Exchange and media coverage of same can be found at www.clonfavour.com - but, briefly, CFE is a self-help group offering skills and labour exchanges on a goodwill basis.  We will be glad to answer any queries Clon Chamber members may have about it.

--  Miriam Cotton,  Outreach Officer,  Clonakilty Favour Exchange

Early May Update

Dear Chamber Members,

Ø  All we have left to sell of the pig for tomorrow evening’s Spit Roast is the right hind leg. The rest of it has been snapped up, so if you haven’t booked your slice, please email me as soon as possible to guarantee your ticket.

Ø  I’m attaching a flyer from a new member of the Chamber, Niall Johnson who many of you will already know. If you are in the business where you recommend, call or arrange hackneys for customers, please do print off his flyer and display it.  

Always consider your fellow Chamber member in your business dealings.

Ø  The newly forming Clonakilty Favour Exchange is holding their kick-off event tomorrow afternoon (Friday). There will be a stall at the market until noon, a press call at O'Donovan's at 3 pm, and and over to Richy's for Tapas at 5 pm.  Information about the Favour Exchange and media coverage of same can be found at www.clonfavour.com .

Ø  Another new Chamber member Steven Kelly and kindly put together a blog for the Chamber which you can check out at the following link:-

Ø  http://clonakiltychamber.blogspot.com/

Ø  He has linked Chamber emails to it, so if you think you’ve missed something on an email, you can check it out on the blog.  There is a blog archive halfway down on the right of the blog page where you can easily navigate to an old message. Many thanks to Steven for going to all that trouble for us.  Also, you may fancy putting a little article together and having it posted on the blogsite.  If you do, please send it into me and we’ll put it up for you.

Ø  We’ve also taken delivery of a fabulous Calendar that we’ve been involved in putting together with Failte Ireland and also the European Commission via EDEN, with special thanks to Roy Maguire.   I’ve attached a PDF of the cover. I hear the cynics saying “What the point in getting it now, halfway through the year?”  

Well it covers up to and including June 2013 and it contains wonderful images of Clonakilty and other Irish EDEN destinations.  I have a substantial supply of them here in the Chamber office, that I’ve had to cart up two flights of stairs, so anyone that wants them can call and collect. They are free to all Chamber members and there are plenty to take away. It’s on a first come first served basis, until they’re all gone.  You can give me a ring to arrange a collection time.

Ø  There is tourism meeting next Wednesday evening the 9^th May at 7pm in the Boardroom over the Courtyard Bar.  Can those involved in any of the tourism projects please send an update to Alan Lowney [alanlowney@hotmail.com].

Ø  And finally, the following message from Philip Newton, “4 days to go before my first half marathon, I've raised €1029 for the charity "Living Links" my goal is to raise €1300 which equates to €100 per mile so if any one out there in internet land wants to throw a few quid my way any amount large or small will be welcome. A BIG THANK YOU to all those who have sponsored me so far to get me to €1029. Just to remind you all, Living Links is based in West Cork and is a charity that gives support to those bereaved by suicide.” Replies please to Clon Business Solutions [info@clonbusiness.com]

-- Mick Hanly