Month: August 2008

AN annual day out in west Clare that started life as a cattle show now pro- vides numerous competitions for a variety of animals, a sports day for children and adults in the area and numerous events for a family Sun- day.

The Mullagh Agriculture Show was founded in 1995 as acattle show, but now features more than 80 class- es for horses, donkeys, sheep and of course, cattle.

As well as the usual young horse and brood mare and foal sections, the agricultural show now boasts Sections for coloured horses, ridden hunters and a registered Connemara Pony section.

While the show is top of the list with many farmers and breeders, the emphasis is on the family and a day out for the community.

As well as the ever-popular sports day, special children’s entertainment is provided while the adults are dis- tracted with the different showings.

With more than a decade of shows behind them, the organisers of the Mullagh Agricultural Show are as busy as ever planning this week’s event.

More than a 1,000 people attended the last number of shows in the com- munity sports field.

On Sunday, August 17, those at- tending can expect more of the same fun and frolics. Judging will begin at llam.

The show will feature qualifiers for the All-Ireland Yearling Con-

nemara Filly, the All-Ireland Two Year Old Filly Championship, the National Irish Draught Foal Cham- pionship, the Celtic Ross Munster Irish Draught Foal Championship, the All-Ireland Donkey Mare and Foal Championship.

The sports day will begin at lpm with events for children, teenagers and even parents.

The ever-popular dog show will begin at 2pm, with the funfair, trade stalls, face painting and bouncy cas- tle running all afternoon.

WHEN Avril Brand lived on Robin Island her home was overlooked by the old Irish cross used by exiled Irish Catholics as a place of worship in the 1800s.

The majority of these Irish expatri- ates were banished to Van Diemen’s land by the ruling British in the 19th century, with a pit stop on the South African island to be used as labour- CHa DOM BOLom OND EN ToNe

For others life in the small west Af- rican island had become unbearable due to foreign rule and famine and the boat was the best hope of surviv- al, even in another land that colonists fought and killed for.

Almost two centuries on and like many South Africans, Avril and her husband Gerhart made the journey to the native home of those exiles in the hope of finding peace and a new life.

Now settled in their west Clare cot- tage, the photo on the mantle piece is not that of de Valera but of politi- cal hero Nelson Mandela, and on the walls, vibrant paintings of native Af- rican animals replace the traditional Sacred Heart.

With reminders of their homeland peppered around the walls, their new Tullybrack house is now home and life in Ireland has quickly become the way of life for the former Robin Island tourist guide and her former prison warden husband.

Born in Cape Town, Avril and her husband moved to the wine region of

South Africa after they got married. Then for six years they lived on the world famous Robin Island.

Her husband was the prison warden on the island for six of the eight years it functioned as a “regular” prison and signed the amnesty of the last political prisoners to leave the infa- mous prison when he first arrived.

At the time Avril worked as a tour- ist guide for the prison services and later worked for the Robin Island Museum when the prison became a national monument.

It was through this job that she met Mandela numerous times as he brought friends and dignitaries on a tour of the prison he was incarcer- ated in for almost 20 years.

Looking at the signed picture that takes pride of place in her sitting room she recalled, ““What a man. He always remembered a face.

“Our greatest hope was Nelson Mandela and we had a great few years (after he became president),”’ she said.

After the election of Thabo Mbeki, Avril said that the great African hope was gone as “reverse racism” replaced apartheid.

“As an ex-prison officer, even though he worked there after all the political prisoners had been released, it was impossible for my husband to get work,’ she said.

Violence became commonplace as robberies, rape, and torture were inflicted randomly. Many of those to meet a torturous end were friends of the Tullybrack residents. Life was

becoming unbearable.

“When you start going out with a revolver and sleeping with a revolver, and you know you will have to shoot to kill, it is time to move, because you have stopped being yourself,’ she said.

In 2002 her husband saw an adver- tisement for jobs in Ireland.

‘He didn’t know where Ireland was so I had to show him on a map,” she laughed.

Always interested in history Avril recalled how she had read the history of Brian Bort: long before she ever thought of coming to Ireland.

She laughed as she recalls the re- action of friends and family to her proposed move.

‘People would say “oh you are go- ing to Ireland, that is a very danger- ous place,’ and they were having friends being killed left, right and Cons tonee

Her husband got a job with Tesco and moved to the country he was soon to learn a lot about.

Avril and one of her three daugh- ters followed soon after.

After six months in Dublin, they moved to Ennis where they lived for two years.

“Then we got the dog and decided to settle. Ireland really became home when we got the dog so we needed to get a home, and | wanted to get out of the town and into the country.”

The couple bought the house in Tullybrack and moved in with their rescued dog Butti (meaning little brother), who is probably the only

dog in west Clare that understands Afrikaans better than English and Irish.

“When we were coming to Ireland we decided to find out what Irish people are like and that we would adapt to how they live. We know a few South Africans here, but most of our friends are Irish. They find us weird and we think they are weird, but we are very similar. We have the same set of values, very similar cul- tures, likes and dislikes and a very similar history,” she said.

“T miss South Africa, but with sev- eral years passed you forget and start to romanticise. Then you hear what is happening and you realise how lucky you are.

‘The freedom you have here is in- credible. To be able to go for a walk with the dog without worrying what will happen is wonderful. Ireland is so beautiful. I don’t like driving so much because you miss the scenery and the changing of the seasons. You don’t have that in South Africa,’ she Cree

“And our neighbours are wonder- ful. They are still people in the sense that they still care and they are won- derful.”

Avril is better known in west Clare for her art. Although her first memo- ries of drawing are not necessarily happy ones, having being chastised as a child for her drawings in school, Avril is now happy to fill her days painting and introducing others to the art.

She has never had an art lesson in

her life, as art was not encouraged as a career path when she grew up.

Instead she taught herself the tech- niques needed to produce amazing paintings of wild animals and scen- ery.

Now Avril is inviting people into her home for individual lessons and one-day courses for small groups.

Those who avail of the course do not even have to bring their own materials as she provides all that 1s required for an introduction into the world of oil painting.

“I give people canvas to draw on – giving them paper is patronising – and when they have finished painting on the canvas they can take it home. They will have something for them- selves to encourage them to continue Oe RUNLn en tcame

While not everyone can draw, Avril believes that everyone can paint.

“I don’t like using photos in the class. Instead I bring them back to their childhood, to a time when you draw from what is within you. Chil- dren have no inhibitions,’ said the talented artist.

Ms Brand initially started the one- day course as a one-off experience, but it proved so popular that she is now holding introductory workshops in her home in Tullybrack during most Sundays.

Information on her art and her workshops are available from www. clareartist.com.

that the new serv- ice is taking a huge amount of pres- sure off the traditional hospital mod- el while bringing health services to the people.

The programme, which was devel- oped during the past two years and which is up and running for almost six months, is providing a range of health services close to the people of north Clare.

The team serves a population of

almost 7,000 people spread out over almost 6,000 square kilometres in- cluding Corofin, Lisdoonvarna, Kil- fenora, Ballyvaughan, Kinnonaboy, Carran, Boston and Doolin.

By ensuring services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and community nursing are close to the people it takes travelling pressure off patients.

This team of GPs, nurses and thera- pists also meet fortnightly to discuss cases and how they can improve the service to the client.

Dr Glynn explained that as general practice and primary care medicine is an area where professionals are al- ways learning from each other, these meetings are therefore a valuable as- om

The team also discuss difficult pa-

tient cases and how other disciplines may also be able to help the patient.

“This model is providing a better outcome and it is less expensive,” said Dr Glynn.

“We are finding it beneficial be- cause we are getting patients seen in a more timely fashion and we can prioritise patients,” he added.

The Corofin GP said that prior to this GPs were referring patients to faceless people in other services but now they meet the other profession- als on a regular basis and can discuss the patient’s treatment and progress.

Many of the services are based in north Clare on a full time basis with service likes the dietician service spending a number of days a month in the area.

Physiotherapy is based in Bally- vaughan with outreach in other prac-

(Coe

A new speech and language thera- pist is to be appointed to cater for the area in the coming weeks, and will be based more than likely in En- nistymon.

Although a fledging project this progressive team already have a pro- posal before the HSE for a chiropo- ohm

The basic premise behind the es- tablishment of primary care teams is that most of the extended health care needs of the members of a particular community can and should be met by healthcare professionals working in that area, removing the need for longer, costly and often tiring jour- neys to outside locations and unfa- miliar professionals. North Clare is leading the way in this new form of health care.

THREE very different artists are coming together for an exhibition which will show the character and beauty of their local area of north Clare through the eyes of the talent- ere Mba Keb ara (OLbE-N icp

“Solitary Company” is the title of the exhibition by three artists from the north Clare area in the Court- house Gallery, Ennistymon this Au- gust.

Inspired by their local landscape artists Mona Hynes, Patsy Ricks and Mary Fahy have created a di- verse show highlighting each of their unique visions.

The three were chosen after an in-

vitation from the gallery to submit work, co-ordinator Maria Kerin, said “because of their very different approaches and the way they com- pliment each other. They have three interpretations of their local space, using very different techniques and approaches.”

The exhibtion will be opened by Councillor Flan Garvey in the Court- house Gallery, Parliament Street, En- nistymon, and will run from August 7 to 30.

The gallery will be open to visitors from 12pm to 5pm, Tuesday to Satur- day and Maria will give talks about the works on Wednesday, August 14 and 21 at 1.15pm and 4.15pm.

All of the paintings are for sale and

there is free entry into the exhibi- noe

Galway born Mary Fahy has cre- ated dense landscapes highlighting the edge of things; where sky meets land, where sea meets shore, to twi- light images at the edge of day. In some paintings Mary suggests inter- action between people and environ- ment: a trace of a footprint, evidence of people having passed through.

Being an artist from the Burren, Mona Hynes expresses her connec- tion to it through paintings that are in a fluid expressive style and deal with an emotional and imaginative response to this beautiful and often desolate landscape.

Mona allows the paint the freedom

to form an initial image by dropping and pouring it onto the canvas and then she paints over this. She never knows what the final piece will look like. For Mona Hynes this process reflects the unique and mysterious quality of the Burren.

Patsy Ricks, an artist based in the Courthouse Studios, engages with everyday scenes in Ennistymon and Lahinch such as dilapidated build- ings, old stone walls, rust and even the dogs in the street catch her eye.

She feels it is necessary to record, through the medium of watercolour, the demise of buildings and their surroundings in the local area. Patsy Ricks work is her chronicle of places fast disappearing.

PREPARATIONS continue for one of Clare’s most popular public events, the Burren Ramble which takes place Od NST =) 01030010 aeA

Registration is at 12 midday at St Patrick’s church Fanore. The walk commences at lpm sharp and follows a six-mile route that takes in much of the Burren’s natural splendor.

From St Patrick’s church, walkers will head towards the Caher valley before crossing over the Caher River and into the Blackhead Mountains and the sweeping views of Galway BeM A

Organisers anticipate that the last of the walkers should have complet- ed the route by 6pm. Participants are also being urged to collect sponsor- ship cards before the event. Cards are available from Joe Queally (087

6260301) and Tomsie O’Sullivan (065 7081022). Clare FM presenter Ger Sweeney will lead out the walk.

Again all funds raised from this year’s event will go towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI).

The RNLI provides on call, 24- hour lifeboat service to cover search and rescue up to 100 nautical miles off the coast of Ireland. The crews are made up of volunteers from all walks of life that give up their time and comfort to carry out rescues and train for them, in difficult and often dangerous conditions.

The RNLI has lifeboats stationed on the west coast of Ireland at Gal- way Bay, Kilrush and Kilronan on Inis Mor and continues to play a vital role in water safety along the Clare coast.

Last year’s Burren Ramble attract-

ed 500 people and raised ©20,000 for the RNLI.

Joe Queally RNLI volounteer and Burren ramble organizer, points to the scenic beauty of the Burren re- gion as one of the main factors be- hind the event’s growing appeal.

“In September, particularly, the Burren takes on a new life. The sea- sons are changing over. You have all these streams that would have disap- peared over the summer, re-appear- ing. People taking part in the ramble get to see the different moods of the Burren first hand. It’s a unique op- portunity”.

He added, “The route this year, will take people through some parts of the Burren that people really don’t get to see that often’. The success of the Burren ramble has contributed enor- mously to the ability of the RNLI to perform lifesaving duties.

Recent tragic events along the Clare coast, have, according to Joe, emphasised the continued need for oneaN E-v Neen

“The RNLI has received amaz- ing support from people, even those communities who wouldn’t be direct- ly linked to the sea. People recognize the importance of lifeboat services. Lifeboats go out on average 12 times a day over the year. Its not a service for anyone, its for everyone”’.

THE ANCIENT art of calico sail making will be celebrated at this year’s Cruinniu na mBad (Gather- ing of the Boats) festival in Kinvara, County Galway.

There is just one family left who hold the secrets of making the beau- tiful sails. The late Johnny Bailey from Galway had the skill and passed it on to his children, who now make the sails and tar and bark them.

Marking the festival’s 30th birth-

day, the organisers have ordered a set of the calico sails which will be presented to one of the 100 Galway hooker’s taking part.

“We will have a set made every year and down the line, every hooker will have the traditional sails,’ said Dr Michael Brogan, Cruinnia na mBad organiser.

“This year we will have two dif- ferent races, one for boats which al- ready have the calico sails and one for those using modern sails.”

Every year the festival poster cel-

ebrates someone involved with the event and this year, it features the late Tony Moylan from Kinvara, who started the festival in 1978.

The races will be for the four types of Galway hookers. They include the Bad Mor, which is the largest vessel measuring between 35 to 44 feet in length; the second largest, the Leath Bhad , has a hull length of roughly 32 feet; the Gleoiteog; and the diminu- tive Pucan. The fun starts this year on Thursday, August 14, when the boats will gather from 3pm at The

Docks in Galway near Sheridan’s Bar. They will be joined by the visit- ing Jeannie Johnson before a night of traditional music and the boats will take part in the Claddagh race across to Kinvara.

The Turf Race will arrive at the pier in Kinvara on Saturday at around Spm and the Climin (seaweed raft race) will be held on Sunday.

There will be sean-nos singing and dancing as well as trad and other mu- sic sessions all over the town for the weekend.

HOMEOWNERS in Clare are being urged to come together to slash the cost of rising energy bills.

Under the second phase of the home energy and saving scheme, any eroup of homes can come together to form a cluster – for instance via a residents’ association or a property management company.

Landlords with multiple dwellings can also apply. Third parties, such as local energy agencies or building contractors, can also gather a group of participants to form a cluster. The scheme has already been taken up by 1,000 homes in north Tipperary, Limerick and Dundalk. The next phase, which has just commenced, is open to 500 homes across Ireland.

All homes may have home energy

assessments carried out and an en- ergy saving report will be provided. The assessment is available from all registered energy assessors. This will cost the householder €100. Ap- plicants who apply in a cluster basis are eligible for grants of up to 30 per cent to a maximum of €2,000 per home from Sustainable Energy Ire- land (SEI).

“Its definitely worth it for home- owners,’ explained Vinnie Blake of the Ennis-based National Energy Assessors (NEA) Clare.

He continued, “In normal cases getting work like this done to make homes more energy efficient would cost around €500 per home. Under the scheme, when homes come to- gether, its only €100.”

Recently opened in Ennis NEA Clare offers a range of services for

the local market, including: building energy rating (BER) certificates, en- ergy audits, air tightness testing and thermal imaging.

According to Mr Blake, a former senior environmental engineer with Limerick-based subsidiary of the US multi national, Analog Devices, “the energy challenge which faces every home and business owner is becom- ing critical to how we run our homes and businesses.”

Meanwhile local Green Party councillor Brian Meaney has called for industrial parks in Ennis to be designated as carbon free zones as part of an overall strategy to attract foreign investement and re-invigor- ate industry.

“We are on the cusp of the third industrial revolution,’ said Cllr Meaney.

“The escalating cost of fossil fuels and the acknowledged ‘peaking’ in production have kick started an in- vestment cycle in renewable energy of enormous proportions. Analysis in any of the [Irish business media of venture capital funding in the US and Europe clearly demonstrates that the mobile investment capital is con- centrated in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.”

Councillor Meaney added, “It should also be borne in mind that while there is no history of solar manufacturing or development in Ireland, if you breakdown the con- stituent parts, we have extensive silicon fabrication and optics exper1- ence with the like of Analog devices and Vistakon; these are core skills that would be vital in attracting new investment.”

A NEW youth group in Ennis aims to assist young people to resist out- side influences and establish their own values.

That’s the message from the lo- cal Baha’i community members of whom started a two week project in Ennis at the weekend.

The aim is to make junior youth groups more widely available.

These groups, which are open to young people aged twelve to four- teen, are an initiative of the Baha’i

Faith and are a core activity offered worldwide by the Baha’is as a service to humanity.

Young people from County Clare and other parts of Ireland gathered to undertake training in running a Junior Youth Group and as part of their training they will invite the lo- cal Ennis Junior Youth to participate in some short taster sessions with the objective of setting up a regular Junior Youth Group starting in Sep- tember.

The materials used in junior youth eroups are Baha‘ inspired but are not

specifically religious. Through study of the materials, service projects and other activities the groups are de- signed to empower young people to express themselves and to see them- selves as transformers of their own characters and of society.

Junior youth groups have been in1- tiated in all parts of the world, meet- ing with great success in diverse locations from Ennis to Mongolia to Australia. Fourteen year old Jani Song from Perth in Australia, who participated in a junior youth group, had this to say, “When you’re in high

school, you see the popular, or cool group and they often take drugs. You see people drinking or doing other sorts of stuff. And you kind of just want to do it because you want to fol- low the crowd.”

Anyone interested in finding out what a group is like, introductory sessions will be hosted during the second week of the project at Cois na hAbhna, Gort Road, Ennis in the afternoons. For further information on participating in the junior youth group, contact Maria McNamara at 086 3613162.

MEN and women from Clare who fought in foreign conflicts will be honoured and remembered at a cer- emony in Ennis next month.

The event is being organised by the Wild Geese, an organisation that seeks to highlight the sacrifices made by Irish soldiers in conflicts through- out history.

Plans are being made for a wreath laying ceremony, followed by a pa- rade, to be held in September.

In all 528 men and women from Clare have fought and died in for-

eign conflicts. The majority of those would have served with the Brit- ish Army while it is estimated that around 100 Clare people served with the United States military.

The ceremony will also recognise the important contribution made by Irish soldiers to United Nation peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and other conflict zones.

Organisers hope that the upcoming ceremony will provide those who fought an opportunity to share their experiences.

Ennis native and Wild Geese mem- ber, John Shanahan explained that

the organisation aims to acknowl- edge, what he believes, is a part of Irish history that people aren’t too familiar with.

‘These men paid the ultimate sac- rifice and that has often gone un- noticed. Its something that a lot of people wouldn’t be aware of, the sacrifice Irish soldiers have made in wars. People mightn’t agree exactly with what people have done but as a strictly non-political organisation, we are trying to tell a story from a soldier’s point of view”’.

Shanahan said that the organisation also seeks to help soldiers and fami-

lies to re-adjust to life after war.

“It can be difficult for people when they come back and we want to get the message out there to families, that we are available to provide help and assistance. Unfortunately, there isn’t much talk about this in Ire- land”. He added, “What many peo- ple mightn’t understand is that there were a lot of reasons for people en- listing in armies. If you look at the history, Irish men would have joined the British army because they had to. A lot of these guys had families to support and there were very few jobs around at the time”.

THE 2008 Merriman Summer School returns to Ennis next week, the town where it all started 40 years ago.

In that time the school has devel- oped into a major annual forum for debate and discussion. This year’s event continues that tradition by ex- amining the twin themes of continu- ity and change, through the lens of Irish history, from Brian Boru to nu @ubliious

Special focus will be devoted to the life and legacy of former President and EU Commissioner, Dr Patrick J Hillery.

One of Ireland’s most distinguished and effective public servants, Dr Hillery also served for 30 years as patron of Cumann Merriman.

‘Hillery’s Ireland’ takes place in

Glor on Saturday, August 23 and will look at the legacy and achievements of the Spanish Point native.

Dr. John Walsh of TCD, his official biographer, will outline the main contours of the former President’s Tate

John Feeney of RTE will present and comment on his television pro- gramme Dr. Patrick Hillery, Presi- dent, 1976-1990. Fiachra O Ceal- laigh, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, will also share his personal recollec- tions of Dr. Hillery.

Co-hosted by two venues, Glor and the Clare Museum, the Merriman Summer School runs in Ennis from August 17-23

This year’s director is Ennis native Brian O’Dalaigh and again the school has attracted some of the country’s most influential cultural and social commentators.

Topics to be explored include 1m- migration and diversity, the future of the regional economy, the role of traditional music in an increasingly commodified society and modern sexuality. The main focus of the day- time lectures will be on the history of the Thomond region and on County Clare’s various contributions to Irish society. As always, the Merriman Summer School is bilingual, with most of the proceedings in English.

Doctor Brian Maurer, medical di- rector of the Irish Heart Foundation, Ireland’s foremost heart surgeon and another native of Ennis, will offi- cially open the School on August 17. Professor David Fitzpatrick of the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin will give the opening lecture, Politics and Irish Life Revisited at 8.30.

Other Speakers include Marc Cole-

man, economist and media com- mentator, Carmel Wynne and Fintan Valley. Translation of the Midnight Court will be on display in the new Clare County Council offices during the school.

Celebration of the Irish language and traditional music and dance forms an integral part of this year’s Merriman School. Glor plays host to a wide range of performances throughout the week.

Running Beast, the Wednesday evening show, explores the experi- ences of Hugh O’Neill in Rome.

As usual, dancing will feature prominently at the school, with set dancing classes every day and Club Merriman every night. Further de- tails about the 2008 Cumman Mer- riman Summer School are available at WWw.merriman.ie and by email: eolas@merriman.ie