This article is from page 10 of the 2011-08-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Michael D Higgins made a return to the place he calls home when he visited Newmarket-on-Fergus on Friday.
The Labour party’s choice to contest the presidential election opened the Newmarket Village Carnival, which was headlined by Dublin band Republic of Loose.
Mr Higgins was raised by his uncle and aunt at their home in Ballycar and went to school in St Flannan’s College.
He recalled, “It was really where I was reared. My father, my grandfather and great grandfather are all from Ballycar. My sister lives in Shannon. My brother farms in Ballycar in the home place and his nephews are now building their houses there. It is where I have my roots. I was born in Limerick city because my father had his business there before his health broke but I was reared from the age of five in Ballycar. I went to St Flannan’s so my brother and myself went in and out every day. I was 19 when I left Clare. I worked for a few months in Progress International in Shannon and then I took the offer of a job with the ESB in Galway.”
He added, “So then I worked there for two years and then I went to England and went through university in America and then in England. Then I came back to teach and then I decid ed to give myself to the public world and stand for the Labour Party. But Clare is where my roots are.”
Mr Higgins was speaking in Ennis at the opening of the Ennis Guitar School, a new venture started by another Newmarket native, Mike Varden.
Former Horslips guitarist Johnny Fean was among the musicians who performed at the opening.
Mr Higgins, a former Minister for Culture, said “Clare has a rich tradition in traditional and contemporary music and this guitar school will help to develop and advance this. The Ennis Guitar School is an invaluable resource for the people of Ennis and the surrounding area, allowing its students, young and old, experienced and novice, to embrace the power of music and develop their talent.”