*Christine McInerney, Breege Vaughan and Carmel Connaire.
A SAVE OUR seat campaign in Lahinch has prevailed with a licence granted to The Coffee Hatch to retain their outdoor picnic bench.
Clare County Council this week granted approval to The Coffee Hatch in Lahinch to have an outdoor seating area accommodating six people under Section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
This licence is valid from April 25th 2025 to April 27th 2026.
At the end of March, an objection was made to the County Council over the presence of the bench outside The Coffee Hatch. Licences for off-street furniture were previously granted by the Council to The Edge for four benches, three of these have been removed by the restaurant but one has since been utilised by The Coffee Hatch.
Following on from the complaint, a ground swell of local support emanated for The Coffee Hatch with a petition signed by over 700 people to try save the seat in Lahinch.
Further support was garnered after the matter was highlighted first by The Clare Echo and was subsequently picked up on by other media outlets including Clare FM and The Independent.
Speaking to The Clare Echo on Wednesday, Carmel Connaire owner of The Coffee Hatch confirmed that the licence had been granted by the Council, she commended them for their “genuine understanding”.
“Most importantly we would like to thank our community. When initially faced with the objection to the picnic bench we were disappointed. Our regulars asked how they can help, is there a petition to be signed? That sparked the beginning of our Save Our Seat campaign. It has always been about our community here in Lahinch more than the business, they wanted to save their meeting point. The response was incredible. The petition gained over 700 signatures in a weekend, with people making the trip down just to put their name to the cause. The reaction online was even greater and countless emails were sent to the council on our behalf from our extended community such as those who aren’t local but make Lahinch their home in the school breaks and summer,” she added.
Emphasising the importance of the bench, Carmel explained, “third spaces somewhere separate from work and home, is clear. People need to have somewhere they can go to meet others and share a genuine human experience. There are very few spaces to do that now, that allow people of all walks of life and strangers to mix and come together naturally, even if only for the duration of their coffee. The picnic bench has become a sort of centre point for the community, and for the individual communities that exist within. We have surfers, workers, gym goers, golfers and passers-by joining together here and the love and laughter shared can be felt on approach. It is magical”.
She felt their campaign underlined the importance of communal spaces in Lahinch. “We hope that this campaign has shone a light on the need for more communal seating areas here in Lahinch. The wall along the promenade only allows for side-by-side company and doesn’t encourage mixing, which is a real shame. Round picnic benches like ours bring people together, face to face. In a world where more of us are working from home alone, partaking in solo travelling or solo sports, we need this more than ever. These are the building blocks of a community. We are delighted to have secured our picnic bench and are really looking forward to the season ahead”.
