This article is from page 21 of the 2012-04-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
INCREASED links between Clare and its Australian twin, the Clare Valley, is helping to give Clare people who have been forced to emigrate ‘down under’ a little taste of home. That is according to Councillor Sue Wurst, of the Clare and Gilbert Valley’s Council, who visited Ennis last week.
According to Cllr Wurst, the connection has also led to a boosting of the local tourism trade in both Clares, with tourists travelling back and forth between the two areas.
“We are out of the way of the major cities so we haven’t seen a lot of people from Clare coming to live and work with us, but we have seen a lot of Clare people coming to Adelaide, and making their way up to us.
“It would be hard to put a figure on how many people from Clare have come to us but we know it happens,” said Cllr Wurst.
“I know that a sizable number of people from the Clare Valley visit County Clare and I know that the reason that they do visit is because of the twinning link. We read the Clare papers and we know that Shannon has been going through difficult times so we made sure to use Shannon Airport and support that.
“While we are here, we like to buy as much stuff and we can eat and drink as much as we can. We want to contribute to the local economy. I know that when the Mayor of the Clare and Gilbert Valleys was here last week that he spent € 400 on clothes in one shop.
“The Australian dollar is quite high at the moment so we are very happy to come over here and to visit a place that is very much close to our heart.”