*Photograph: Natasha Barton
HUGE CROWDS descended to Doora for the official opening of the €20m Banner Plaza on Thursday afternoon.
Junction 12 of the M18 had tailbacks aplenty as the public from Clare, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary packed into the Banner Plaza for the official opening which was performed by Minister for Transport and Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien (FF).
A total of 120 jobs have been created at the Banner Plaza with the €20m price tag double the amount of what the Obama Plaza cost to construct, the managing director of Supermac’s Pat McDonagh confirmed. The addition of the Clare facility brings to over 2,500 the amount of jobs nationally within the Supermac’s network. Plans for the motorway service station were first lodged in January 2016. It is situated just off junction 12 of the M18 in Kilbreckan, Doora on the outskirts of Ennis.
McDonagh was joined by his wife Una for the unveiling in what was a proud day in the career of the multi-millionaire. The Banner Plaza has been operating since November 7th and has proven to be a constant hive of activity.
Speaking on Thursday, Pat described it as “a very special day personally and for the wider Supermac’s family and for everybody who has worked hard with us”. He singled out the efforts of Clare County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Uisce Éireann along with the planning, legal, architectural and construction teams with Jarlath Connolly playing a leading role.
Pat recounted, “We bought the site nearly fifteen years ago and made our first planning application roughly ten years ago, it didn’t happen overnight and is the result of persistence and patience, it is the longest running project we have undertook”.
He admitted, “there was times when it was easy to lose heart with the setbacks we faced the belief that it was needed kept us going and that it made sense, it is for everyone travelling this route and the people of Clare that we kept going. For years, the people of Clare would always ask me the same question on when the Plaza would be open, it followed me everywhere. It had become something that the people of Clare wanted to happen”.
Getting the project to the finish line has been a bumpy road. In 2018, it emerged that bogus letters of support were submitted to the local authority in support of the development. Plans were withdrawn in 2019 following a request for further information with fresh plans submitted a year later before it received the green light in December 2020.
Noting the cost of €20m was double the spend required for the Obama Plaza, Pat pointed out that it also provides services that did not exist along a 100km stretch between Galway and Limerick. He labelled it is “a commercial development but one that is part of the national infrastructure” as it supports road users, tourism, employment and regional connectivity.
Inclusion of Clare imagery throughout the Plaza be it sports people, advocates, musicians and well-known figures was a way of “saying something about Clare itself,” he explained. McDonagh said they have worked with Fáilte Ireland to ensure there is a reason for people to stop at the Banner Plaza “and be reminded where they are”.
Within the Plaza, services include Supermac’s, Eurospar store, Texaco forecourt, Mama Rich and Supersubs. McDonagh highlighted that the inclusion of Mama Rich is their “first venture into Asian street food and “it brings something new to the Plaza”. The Plaza’s seomra ceol on the first floor is also their first dedicated space for music.
RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey who hails from Mullagh was MC for the official opening. He described McDonagh as “one of the leading business people in Ireland, we are very privileged to have him here in Clare, he is a Galway man but he is our neighbour from up the road”.
Minister O’Brien said Supermac’s employee figures of 2,500 plus served as “a magnificent Irish success story”. He praised the manner in which they are proud to be Irish and to buy Irish produce.
Clare senior hurling captain Tony Kelly and Irish athlete Sarah Lavin were among the sporting stars in attendance with music provided by the Kilfenora Céili Band. Clare TDs, Timmy Dooley (FF), Joe Cooney (FG) and Cathal Crowe (FF) were present along with Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (FF), Mayor of Clare, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Michael Begley (IND) and Cllr Anotinette Baker Bashua (FF). Junior Minister, Niall Collins (FF) and Senator Maria Byrne (FG) made their way from Limerick for the unveiling.
Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Gordon Daly, President of Ennis Chamber, Diarmuid McMahon, CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland, Jean McCabe, Deputy Vice President of the Irish Road Haulage Association Eugene Drennan and Chairman of Clare GAA Kieran Keating were also in situ for the official opening.
