Shannon (Irish: An tSionna), or Shannon Town, is a new town located in County Clare and is one of only two planned towns the Island of Ireland, the other being the Northern Ireland town of Craigavon. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The population was 8,561 at the last census (2002). Bullet for locations in Ireland, displays location and not area. ... Image File history File links Ireland_map_County_Clare_Magnified. ... The Global Positioning System (GPS) is currently the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). ... The Irish national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Ireland. ... During late Gaelic and early historic times Ireland was divided into provinces to replace the earlier system of the tuatha. ... Statistics Area: 24,607. ... For much of its history, the island of Ireland was divided into 32 counties (Irish language contae or condae, pronounced IPA: ). Two historical counties, County Desmond and County Coleraine, no longer exist. ... County Clare (Contae an Chláir in Irish) is in the Irish province of Munster. ... Basic Definition In geography, the elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or some other fixed point). ... A new town, planned community or planned city is a city, town, or community that was designed from scratch, and grew up more or less following the plan. ... County Clare (Contae an Chláir in Irish) is in the Irish province of Munster. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Because of its size the town is managed at a local government level by the Shannon Town Commission. (As opposed to a Town Council or Urban District Council) In the United Kingdom, town councils are civil parish councils, where the civil parish is a town. ... In the British Isles an urban district was a type of local government district which covered an urbanised area. ...

The town was built on reclaimed marshland alongside the newly established Shannon Airport, along with the Shannon Free Zone industrial estate. The town itself was 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 and Limerick City, or even the nearby village of Newmarket-on-Fergus. This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... Shannon Airport (IATA: SNN, ICAO: EINN), or Aerfort na Sionna in Irish, 3. ... Shannon Free Zone is a 2. ... An industrial park is an area of land set aside for industrial development. ... For people named Ennis, see Ennis (surname). ... This article is about the city in Ireland. ... Newmarket-on-Fergus (Irish: Cora Chaitlín) is a village in County Clare, Ireland. ...

The 'planned' nature of this town did not necessarily result in a successful town. Until 2003 the main dual-carriageway to the airport divided the town, as well as cutting it off from the surrounding countryside. Much of the town layout was car-oriented, with straight roads and rigidly laid out housing, rather than people-friendly design. As well as generally lacking in facilities, the town's shopping centre was also of dubious design. Shops fronted onto pedestrian malls that were originally uncovered, allowing estuary winds and rain to strike at shoppers. There is a marked difference too between the early low-cost housing (tower block flats located in Drumgeely near the airport and terraced housing) and high-cost housing (large detached housing) located on the outskirts in Ballycasey towards Limerick City. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A typical British Dual carriageway, this one being the A63(T) near Hull A dual carriageway or divided highway is a road or highway in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a central barrier or strip of land, known as a central reservation or median. ... For the traditional meaning of the word mall, see mall. ... Car-free zones (also known as auto-free zones and pedestrianised zones) are areas of a city or town in which automobile traffic is prohibited. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A street of British terraced housing In architecture and city planning, a terrace, rowhouse, or townhouse (United States) is a style of housing since the late 18th century where identical individual houses are cojoined into rows. ... This article is about the city in Ireland. ...

The future for the town is brighter than it has been for many years. The recently completed bypass of Newmarket-on-fergus also includes a spur to Shannon airport, resulting in a bypass of the town for most traffic to and from Ennis and Limerick. The population grew significantly in the 1990s, and new modern housing developments continue to be built. As a result, facilities in the town are slowly improving; for example, a second major supermarket opened, with the shopping centre being expanded by the addition of the modern "Skycourt" complex. The main road through Shannon was remodelled following the opening of the bypass. New units continue to open in the industrial estates (despite some others closing or changing hands). There is also a lobby for railway services connecting to Shannon, from the existing Ennis-Limerick route. In theory this would benefit the local community as well as the airport. Bypass routes are a type of bannered highway usually used when the main route of the highway goes through a town and an alternate route of the same highway goes around the highway. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Exterior of a typical British supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) This Flagship Randalls store in Houston, Texas is an example of an upscale supermarket. ...

See also

• List of towns in the Republic of Ireland

This is a link page for cities and towns in the Republic of Ireland, including larger villages, and villages and townlands of note, as well as towns, townships or urban centres in Dublin. ...

External links

• Official site