Month: September 2008

THERE were victory celebrations in Tulla last week as the young musi- cians who made their mark at the All Ireland Fleadh were feted.

In a parade through the streets, led by the Tulla Pipe Band, Aisling Hunt carried the Enna Doocey Shield which she won in the Accordion Class, ul2 group. Aisling Lyons won her second successive All-Ireland ul2 title in the harp and she proud- ly carried the Caesar Cup. Eimear Coughlan brought the Mayo Ireland Ltd cup for winning the All Ireland ul5 harp. Gearoid McNamara was second in the whistle ul2 competi- tion and Geard Coughlan was sec- ond in the ccompaniment and Harp VERE

After the celebration parade, the winners and Comhaltas members went to Minogues where a party got into full swing.

Tulla Comhaltas is now _ busy putting the final touches to prepa- rations for the Tulla Trad Festival, which will start on September

The classes will be led by some of the very best musicians. Topping the list is Liz Carroll the renowned fid- dle player based in the U.S. who is doing a fiddle workshop in the morn- ing and giving a masterclass in the afternoon. Flute player Catherine McEvoy is the tutor at the flute work- shop and masterclass.

Whistle students will be delighted to hear top whistle player Mary Ber- gin perform, while harp players will have well known harpist Kathleen

Loughnane.

Micheal O’Raghallaigh on concer- tina is back again this year and Ann Conroy-Burke and her husband Joe Burke are both master accordion- ists. Anne, who will be in charge of the accordion workshop and master class, will be joined by Joe at the ‘Masters in Town Concert’ on the Saturday night.

Among the extra workshops includ- ed this year are uileann pipes and percussion. Piper Mick O’Brien will be giving the uileann pipes classes.

Limerick born Tommy Hayes who came to fame when he became part of Stockton’s Wing is giving the per- cussion class. John Carty will take banjo.

Popular traditional singer, Nora Butler is doing the traditional sing-

ing class and Maire Ni Chéileachair will be teaching sean nos singing, while Aidan Vaughan from Miltown Malbay will be teaching steps for Sets.

Sean nos dancers will be able to see Seosamh O’Neachtain stepping out in the sean nos style from his native Connemara. Seosamh will be giving morning classes and evening master classes and like most of the master musicians will also be performing at the ‘Masters in Town Concert’.

Sr Eibhlin Ni Challanain and Caitlin Ni Mhaoldomnaigh. are the muinteoiri at the Comhra Gaeilge classes.

that dumping has escalated to a completely unacceptable level.

“The current warden is doing a

fine job but it’s a big area to cover,

spreading from Westbury all the way into Clare. He can’t be working twenty four hours a day, seven days a week,” the Labour councillor said.

Cllr Fitzgerald, who runs a food business 1n the Westbury Centre, says there has been a marked increase in illegal dumping in recent months.

“T come in in the morning and my bin has bags of other people’s rub- bish in it. Householders in the area ring me angry that they put out their bins for collection and overnight, other people come along and fill the

bins up. At every bottle bank, you see cardboard boxes dumped and drive out to Broadford and there’s rubbish just dumped at the side of the road.”

The councillor believes that people are dumping at night and at week- ends, knowing that the litter warden can’t work every weekend.

“IT saw a pick-up truck drive past me last Sunday loaded down with bags of rubbish. That was at 2pm on a Sunday. The truck drove towards Clare and I saw it coming back at

3.30pm empty. Now where did those bags of rubbish end up? There was no official landfill or recycling place open on Sunday.”

Cllr Fitzgerald said he is also ask- ing the director of services to tell him how many fines and court pros- ecutions there have been for littering in the east Clare area.

‘People are dumping because they know they won’t be caught or penal- ised. We need more than one person to enforce this legislation. It’s getting out of hand.”

that the project was never a moneymaking venture but about changing people lives for the better.

The €4 million etown project is the first of its kind in Ireland and con- struction work on the 12 combined home/work units in the scheme was completed early this year with Shan- non Development taking ownership

in April.

“There has been a lot of activity with the show house,” said Mr Ryan.

The e-towns initiative allows peo- ple to work from home and has been designed as an innovative way of helping people find a better quality O) Ms BB Kee

This unique integrated development combines living and office space with high-tech broadband access.

The current property downturn has had an affect on the sale of the hous- es and units in Miltown Malbay but as the economy continues to change Mr Ryan believes that the e-town

concept will become an even more valuable part of modern life.

“We believe in the concept. The time is right. More people will want to live close to work as the price of oil and petrol gets more expensive.”

“We see this as a long term invest- ment and we are not in it for the money,’ said the Shannon Develop- ment employee. “It is about changing quality of life for the best.”

So committed to the concept, Shan- non Development is preparing to Open its second etown to the public ONS To) O)Ko08 elo aoe

The eight-unit homework space is

situated on 1.3 acres inside the walls of an old mill. From there the sem1- state company plans to build similar etowns in Offaly, north Tipperary and County Limerick.

Among the many attraction likely to entice people to the west Clare etown and the nine primary schools and secondary school in the area.

It also has a vibrant community, surfing, golf, drama, Irish music classes, créche facilities, 15 bars and a dozen restaurants within a few of miles, and of course the sea. It is also just 30 minutes from Ennis and un- der an hour from Shannon Airport.

EUGENE Costello has been de- scribed as a “character” – a character with a love of curraghs.

So much so that the Kilkee man, who turned 65-years-old last week was instrumental in reviving curragh racing in the west and bringing the All-Ireland Curragh Racing Cham- pionships to west Clare for the first MESO ol

This after almost 30 years since the once popular sport of curragh racing all but vanished in west Clare.

According to the champion of the curragh, this had as much to do with a lack of interest of a new generation, as it had with the introduction of ex- pensive insurance to run such events and the scourge of emigration.

The curragh however did not dis- appear completely with locals using them from time to time for fishing NIG Moo RUUKO AYN UNO)

‘Many years ago I saw a lone cur- ragh coming in after being out fish- ing all night and it was lovely,’ he said.

Eugene decided to carry out an in- ventory of all the curraghs still left in the west. There were up to nine cur- raghs in Kilrush and five in Kilkee.

“Back in Carrigaholt there was a man making curraghs and he had five or six,’ said Eugene. “There was more than enough to start some- den bercaa

This all happened 15 years ago and since then people have been making more curraghs in Kilkee which are also used by group from around the

west for racing.

Today crews can be found in Kul- baha, Doonbeg, Kilrush, Kilkee and Carrigaholt as curragh racing in GUE Kem ISA alan tetnelcar Kaas.) B

Just last month Kilbaha played host to the All-Ireland Curragh Champi- onships thanks to the hard work of Eugene and the dedicated crews.

“A lot of hard work went into it. It cost up to €11,000 to run it for two days but it was worth it as the cream of curragh racing came from all over the country including west Kerry, Coonagh, Donegal, Galway and the Aran Islands,’ said the man who is no stranger to racing curraghs him- self.

In the 1990s he was part of a suc- cessful crew with the Harte brothers from Kilkee.

“We have the distinction of win- ning the confined race in Kilkee for eight years in row,’ laughed Eugene. “That record won’t be broken in my lifetime.”

“Forty years ago I couldn’t get my place in any crew because there was a lot around, but when it came back I raced.”

Modern record books will show him as a constant in the new age of curragh racing.

THE only people that don’t look for- ward to the Dan Furey weekend in Labasheeda are the school children because just as the Rose of Tralee hails the end of the summer holidays, the approach of this set-dancing weekend means a return to school.

For everyone else the first week- end in September has for the last 13 years been known as the Annual Dan Furey Weekend of Set Dancing in Labasheeda.

The fancy dress and float parade take the sting out of the September blues for the children every year and this year promises to be no differ- ele

The parade takes place on Sunday next at 1.30pm followed by an after-

noon céili with Johnny Reidy Céili Band at 3pm.

This year’s Dan Furey’s festival will be officially opened by Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) on Friday next at 9.30pm fol- lowed by a céill.

On Saturday the workshops begins Pla Ler-te0

Not surprising, considering the origination of the festival, the first workshop is in set dancing with Mike Mahony followed by step dancing with Michael Tubridy.

At 3pm the céili begins with a com- memorative Mass at 8pm followed lar NON MecI Ee

At 10.30am on Sunday the now traditional visit to James Keane and Dan Furey’s graves will take place followed by the dancing at Kilkerrin

Battery Castle.

A huge crowd is expected for this, not only for the entertainment but because TG4 are recording events for ‘Muintir na Mara’.

The highlight of the festival for many is the parade at 1.30pm with an afternoon and night ceili wrap- O)UeTmbN OMA Lone

Hot meals will be served at St. Ki- eran’s Centre during the festival.

The community centre will also be used for a live screening of the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final between Kilkenny and Waterford.

The popular set dancing festival, the profile of which is raised not just by the hard work of the organising committee but the strong tradition of dancing in the area and the work of Dan Furey and his life long friend

James Keane teaching the Labash- eeda set dances around west Clare.

Since their passing, both Dan Furey and James Keane have become icons for followers of the dancing tradi- tions of the area. They are credited with being the saviours of the tra- ditional dances of Labasheeda. Dan was known far and wide for teaching dancing in the schools of west Clare and latterly came to prominence at WATom ABOU E Com ONE TITCAYAN COUR LAUR

Dan was single-minded in his teaching and dedicated his life to this art form. He was familiar to many in the county not least for his fiddle ac- companiment for the dancers.

Dan and James were firm friends all their lives and Dan learned most of his dances from James’ father Charlie Keane.

THE Clare branch of the Samaritans will hold the first of two information evenings this Thursday (Sepetmber 4) at the Old Ground Hotel.

Members of the Samritans will speak on the night and outline the work and duties carried out by the Service.

Another information evening will be held at the same venue on Monday Sepetmber 8.

Samaritans is available 24 hours a day to provide confidential emo-

tional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those, which may lead to suicide.

The organisation is looking for open-minded, non-judgmental peo- ple to get involved with the support Service.

All volounteers receive quality and detailed training before starting. Vol- unteers are shown how to develop the necessary listening skillsrequired. There is a strict code of confidential- ity and callers are given the freedom to talk openly.

90 people currently volunteer with the service in Clare. In previous years, interest has been high and the Samaritans are hoping for another good turnout.

Apart from the telephone the Sa- maritans can also be contacted by text and by email. The text and email services were established with the Samaritans conscience of the fact that different people will use differ- ent methods to contact the service.

A spokesperson for the service ex- plained, “We talk to people about who we are and what we do. We

would be looking for open-minded, non-judgmental people who would be natural listeners who would be prepared to give a commitment. In training we teach people how to de- velop listening skills”

He added, “We would be looking for people who are open-minded and accept other views. We don’t moral- ise or use philosophy or tell people what to do.

‘We are there to listen. Confidenti- ality is hugely important. We recog- nise the fact that people are given the freedom to talk in safety.”

ASPIRING musicians and perform- ers can learn from the best at the Chord Festival in Ennis this week.

A diverse and eclectic programme of live concerts and exhibitions is peppered with a series of workshops that begin on Saturday.

At last year’s Chord Festival, audi- ences were wowed by the flamenco guitar playing of Rafael and mes- meric flamenco dance style of Lola Rueda – both artists are back this year – but with a twist, they will be teaching their individual skills in a series of workshops – to which places are very limited.

Starting at llam, Lola will take a class – open to six to 10 year olds – who are invited to dress in “flamenco style’ if the mood takes them. This workshop will run until 12.30pm. In the afternoon from 2 to 3.30pm Lola

will run an all-ages flamenco dance workshop.

At similar times Rafael, an accom- plished teacher as well as working musician, will host flamenco guitar workshops. The morning session 1s targeted at beginners to intermediate level, while the afternoon workshop is geared towards moderately accom- plished guitar players upwards. All workshops take place at Glor and are ogee eel Oe Oe

At 5pm on Saturday at the Temple Gate Hotel, Rafael and Lola will join forces to perform a free “Flamenco Guitar, Song and Dance Show’, for one hour.

The festival will be officially launched at 6.30pm on Friday, Sep- tember 5 at the opening of Wallpa- per – a group exhibition featuring nationally established, plus locally emerging contemporary artists. The show features a wide range of

mediums from silkscreen to spray- paint/stencil, photography, paint and sculpture.

Wallpaper will take place at No. 7, O’Connell Street, close to The Square and will run from 6.30pm on Friday through to Sunday afternoon. Admission is free.

Later on Friday night, Brazillian band the Sonia Esquivel Trio, take Glor by storm. Sonia will explore the Brazilian musical tradition perform- ing a mixture of samba, bossa nova, choro and other Brazilian rhythms

The evening concludes at Chord- Festival HQ (Upstairs at Brogan’s on O’Connell Street), when, starting at 9.30pm, a series of live acts will take to the stage .

This ‘Homegrown’ event is, as the name suggests a showcase for the best and most promising music acts from County Clare, including Ver- tigo Smyth and Gargotha Sun. A DJ

set will follow until 1.30am. Admis- sion is £10.

The highlights on Saturday include performances by acclaimed Dublin band the Jimmy Cake and an ac- claimed one man travelogue from fiddle player Aindrias de Staic.

Later in the night the festival will reconvene upstairs in Brogans for it’s Festival Club, which will run until Pelee Tee

Sunday will see the festival wind down with a relaxed Family Day at Temple Gate Hotel. From 12.30 to 2pm, there will be live music and face painting.

Weather permitting the event will be held in the courtyard outside the Temple Gate (in front of the Muse- um), otherwise it will move indoors. This event is free.

For a full festival line-up of times and prices go to www.chordfestival. com.

A NEW project allows students at Ennis Community College to pursue a more practical approach to learn- ing.

ORBIT (Outdoor Research Brought Into Teaching) provides first year students at Ennis Community Col- lege with an experimental approach to learning the curriculum.

ORBIT essentially offers students an opportunity to leave the classroom environment for one day a week and visit sites of natural and _ historical significance to aid the learning ex- eae nleer

All junior certificate subjects are

dealt with under the ORBIT um- brella in an effort designed to make learning a more practical, hands-on experience.

The lessons taken outside the class- room are then channeled back into the mainstream learning environ- ment.

Since Ennis Community College took up the programme last Septem- ber, students have visited numerous local sites including Kilmacduduagh Round Tower, Corcomore Abbey, Bunratty Castle, Cliffs of Moher, Scariff Seed Savers and the Kilfeno- ra Heritage Centre.

Students also took part in a live ar- chaeological dig at Caherconnell.

Students have benefited hugely from the wide variety of activities. The highlight for many was meeting the Munster rugby team while on a visit to the University of Limerick. Others enjoyed making their own brew of apple juice at Scariff Seed- SE Noi

All of these experiences will be recorded in the ‘Make A_ Book’ scheme. This involves students pre- paring a compendium of short stories based on their trips around Clare.

The book will also feature a col- lection of photographs and a digital storyboard. It is hoped that Ennis Community College can continue to provide the programme for many

years to come.

Co-coordinator Catherine O’Donnell thanked everyone who contributed to making ORBIT such a valuable learning experience for students.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Ger Cullen from the Bur- ren Outdoor Activity Centre, our school’s completion programme for all their support and to the many teachers who are participating on a weekly basis. This programme is a testament to the great efforts that have taken place between the main- stream and resource at Ennis Com- munity College. We look forward to similar initiatives in the future”’.

A PROGRAMME aimed at improv- ing the skills of young drivers that began in Ennis has now been extend- ed to 140 schools around Ireland

Ennis man Kieran O’Brien estab- lished the Irish School of Excellence, which he piloted two years ago in St Flannans’ College.

Now, through an ongoing exten- sion of the programme, students in schools from Letterkenny to Bray, are being made aware of the impor- tance of safe driving.

O’Brien explained that the aim of the programme has always been to ensure that when drivers take to the road, they are fully qualified to do

so, and are aware of their responsi- YUH CoE

He said, “Some schools invite a lo- cal driving instructor to come and take their students in large groups and let them drive the car around. This is the type of driver education that we at the Irish School of Excel- lence condemn as it is like handing a gun to somebody and without giving any education in safety and common sense will tell you that this is danger- Othe

All participating students receive a certificate of achievement on com- pletion of the driver education pro- eae NONDONOR

Only after students become fully aware of the rules of the road are

they allowed to sit into a car with a fully qualified driving instructor, ex- plained O’Brien.

‘The Irish school of excellence pro- gramme format is educational and safety orientated and only after the students pass their theory test and a driver education test regarding insur- ance, penalty points and much more, only then do they get to take their lessons with a fully approved driving instructor”’.

Over the next six weeks, O’Brien has been given seven in-service train- ing days to teach up to 150 teachers how to run the programme.

This is the first time that a driver education programme has been so fully embraced by schools in Ire-

land.

O’Brien hopes that with more and more schools coming on board, the programme will eventually receive backing from the Department of Education.

During the summer months the programme was given to youthreach ovcescae-besveslenw-NUMe(o) mAs eO NINA A

Developed voluntary in 2005, the Irish School of Excellence has grown from one school to 140 schools na- tionwide with Toyota among the high profile companies lending their sup- port.

ALTHOUGH it may have won the title of Ireland’s Information Age Town, Ennis is being left behind in the latest high tech development af- ter missing out on an €18 million fibre optic network which is to be installed around Limerick City and eight towns in the mid-west region. Clare Green Party councillor, Bri- an Meaney has highlighted the major contradiction in the fact that Ennis and Shannon have been overlooked

in a Government initiative to bring broadband to the masses in the mid- west.

In recent days, Shannon Broad- band Ltd, a public sector consortium led by Shannon Development, an- nounced the completion of a fibre optic network in providing world- class telecoms to eight towns in the mid-west.

Local authorities in the mid-west and Offaly were also involved in the initiative but Clare County Council has fared worst with only Kilrush in-

cluded in the present scheme.

Two Offaly towns, Birr and Ban- agher are in the scheme, along with Roscrea and Templemore in Tipper- ary while Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West in County Limerick have also been provided with the infrastruc- aOR Kom

The latest expansion of the fibre optic network covers 52 kilometres and follows the earlier provision of 57 kilometres of fibre optic cable by Shannon Broadband at a cost of €6.5 million around Limerick City.

Cllr Meaney yesterday expressed his anger that Ennis was excluded from the initiative.

He said there has been a failure to build on the Information Age Town designation. The most recent cen- sus figures show that Ennis has now been eclipsed by Shannon in terms of homes that own a home computer, while almost half of Ennis homes have no access to the internet.

“It is already proving difficult to at- tract industry to Ennis and this will place the town at a further disadvan-

tage. Broadband is now as important as laying train tracks or new roads for the county’s infrastructure and I find it mystifying what Ennis and Shannon were not put forward as candidate towns in Clare,’ he said.

A spokesman for Shannon Devel- Opment said that the Department for Communications nominated the towns concerned. However, Shannon Development would be pressing the case for the inclusion of Ennis, Shan- non and Thurles in the next expan- sion.