Shannon () or Shannon Town (), named after the
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
near which it stands, is a town in
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. 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
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
and
Ennis
Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...
. It is the location of
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...
, an international airport serving the Clare/Limerick region in the west of Ireland, as well as being the location of one of the two bases of
Shanwick Oceanic Control
Shanwick is the air traffic control (ATC) name given to the area of international airspace which lies above the northeast part of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Shanwick Oceanic Control Area (OCA) abuts Reykjavík OCA to the north, Gander OCA to the ...
which oversees
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
over the western portion of the
North Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
.
It has a population of 10,256 as per the
2022 census, the second largest town in the county.
History
Shannon is a
new town
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
. Spearheaded by
Brendan O'Regan
Brendan O'Regan CBE (1917–2008) was an Irish businessman responsible for developing Shannon Airport, inventing the concept of the duty-free shop and transforming the Shannon Region of Ireland. He was involved in promoting peace in Northern Ir ...
, it was built in the 1960s on reclaimed
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land alongside
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...
, along with the Shannon Free Zone
Industrial park
An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...
. 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
Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...
town and
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
city, or even the nearby village of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is from Ennis, from Shannon Airport, and from Limerick.
History
The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its ori ...
.
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
A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
was also of poor design. Shops fronted onto
pedestrian mall
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...
s 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
A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...
.
Shannon was originally located in the parish of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is from Ennis, from Shannon Airport, and from Limerick.
History
The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its ori ...
in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
The Diocese of Killaloe ( ; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly.
The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Ss Peter a ...
, 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 Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
. The church of Saints John and Paul was opened in Tullyvarraga in 1980.
Other churches are the Adoration Chapel in Shannon Town Centre and the Shannon Airport Oratory.
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.
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
GAC Ireland was a bus and coach manufacturer based in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland. It traded from 1980 until 1986, and almost all the vehicles it built were for the Irish state-owned transport company Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) with the ...
, which built almost all buses for
CIÉ
, or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic of Ireland and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Hold ...
during its short existence between 1980 and 1986.
Development
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
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
,
Lidl
Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
, with the shopping centre being expanded by the addition of the "Skycourt" complex.
The main road through Shannon was remodelled following the opening of the bypass of
Newmarket-on-Fergus
Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is from Ennis, from Shannon Airport, and from Limerick.
History
The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its ori ...
. New units continued to open in the industrial estates.
Education

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) and a school under the patronage of Church of Ireland (St. Johns NS).
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.
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
The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland.
The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
.
Economy
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
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover, also known as JLR, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and SUVs and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, Unite ...
,
Zimmer Biomet
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded American medical device company. It was founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints. The firm is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, where it is part of the medical devices business cluster.
In 200 ...
,
Element Six,
Symantec,
AXA Partners,
Lufthansa Technik
Lufthansa Technik AG ('Lufthansa Engineering', often referred to simply as "LHT") is a Germany-based company that provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft, engines, and components. It is a subsidiary of the Lufthansa ...
,
Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation was a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981, the company distributed products that ass ...
,
RSA Security
RSA Security LLC, formerly RSA Security, Inc. and trade name RSA, is an American computer security, computer and network security company with a focus on encryption and decryption standards. RSA was named after the initials of its co-founders, ...
,
GE Capital
GE Capital was the financial services division of General Electric. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one div ...
,
Ingersoll Rand
Ingersoll Rand Inc. is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technol ...
,
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
and
Digital River.
Eirjet's head office was located on the grounds of Shannon Airport.
Local government and politics
The town is administered at a local level by
Clare County Council
Clare County Council () is the local authority of County Clare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and de ...
. In 1982, the town was granted local government under
town commissioners
Town commissioners were elected local government bodies that existed in urban areas in Ireland from the 19th century until 2002. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, wit ...
. In 2002, this body became a town council. In 2008, the administrative boundary of the town was extended. In 2014, in common with all town councils in Ireland, it was abolished and its functions were transferred to the county council.
In addition, prior to September 2004,
Shannon Development, a
state-sponsored body had charge of many services normally provided by local authorities in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. 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
Clare County Council () is the local authority of County Clare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and de ...
. The company retains responsibility for the
Shannon Free Zone.
Climate
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
subtype for this climate is "
Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
).
The highest temperature ever recorded in Shannon was on 28 June 2018.
Twin towns – sister cities
Shannon is twinned with:
*
Guingamp
Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...
, France, since 1991
Notable people
*
Patrick Cassidy - orchestral, choral, and film score composer
*
Pat Cox -
President of the European Parliament
The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...
, 2002-2004, journalist and television current affairs presenter
*
Rachael English - author and broadcaster
*
Ger Loughnane - senior
hurler, manager of the
Clare team and sports commentator, worked as a teacher in Shannon and lived in the Coill Mhara area
for some decades
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
Official site
{{, date=24 May 2023
Towns and villages in County Clare
Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland
Populated places established in the 1960s
Planned communities established in the 1960s