This article is from page 28 of the 2013-06-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
AS MANY as 250 Claires, Clares and Clairs from as far away as Hawaii, Australia and Europe have already signed up to be part of a record breaking attempt in Ennis on June 23. Organisers of the Gathering Event are now asking home grown Claires and those from all over Ireland to join in the attempt to break the World Record held by the Mohammads of Dubai, by having the largest ever gathering of persons with the same first name.
As many as 250 people from all over Ireland, the UK, Europe, and as far away as Australia and Hawaii have so far registered to participate in the event with many hundreds more expected to sign up closer to the time.
The largest gathering of people with the same first name is 1,096 Mohammeds in Dubai in 2005. The Clare event is being oraganised by the Clare Volunteer Centre, supported by the Gathering Clare Steering Committee.
“This is a family event where everyone from babies to grandparents are welcome to attend. You don’t have to be from County Clare, you may not have even heard of County Clare but you will share a name that is synonymous with being ‘clear, bright and famous’,” explained Sharon Meaney, Manager of the Clare Volunteer Centre:
The Electoral Register shows that there 608 people aged 18 or over named Clair, Claire or Clare in County Clare alone so there is clearly a large pool of people in the region that can contribute to this world record attempt.”
“The Guinness World Records insist that the only proof of identity we can accept is a Birth Certificate,” added Ms Meaney.