This article is from page 32 of the 2008-02-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
NATIONAL honours will be be- stowed on a rural community in east Clare when seven young ladies take part in a All-Ireland talent competi- tion next week.
Seven members of the Lough- geraney Youth Club in Flagmount will participate in a national variety competition, organised by the Youth Council.
The event, which will see the girls sing a variety of songs, will take place in Maynooth on Saturday.
The girls got through to this stage of the competition, having been suc- cessful at both county and regional levels.
The seven – Cassie Comerford, Vasthi Curran, Ciara McNamara, Lorraine Moloney, Alanna Moro-
ney, Caoimhe Ryan, Sharon Keane – will sing a variety of songs, focus- ing mainly on folk and traditional music.
Fiddle player Colin McNamara also got through to the Munster finals, where he did his club proud.
They entered the competition under the auspices of their local youth club, which was set up last year and are tutored by Veronica Ni Chuilleagain from Bodyke.
Chairperson of the youth club Kathleen McNamara said young people are actively encouraged to get involved in events in the local com- munity.
“Young people have a lot to offer in the community. We have a lot of community projects ongoing. It is important for people to have owner- ship of the community,” she said.
“We had nothing in the area for so long, no community centre, no meet- ing point,’ said Ms McNamara.
“What brought the youth club on was having the childcare centre. It gave us a new lease of life,’ she ANOe(cre
“You have to have something for the youth,” she said.
The youth club is headed up by a variety of leaders – both adults and young people in the area. The club has 30 members, aged between 12 and 17.
SW stereo mca vek moter roe DUE ous activities, including fundraising initiatives along with fun events. They took to the streets of Galway last Christmas, where they engaged in carol singing, raising money for the Share A Dream Foundation in the process.
Next weekend’s event in Maynooth will be followed by an activity week- end for the club, from March 7 to 9, when the club visits Petersburg out- door recreation centre in Mayo.
Along with Ms McMahon, among those involve in the running of the club are Hillary Dully (secretary), Regina McCormack (assistant sec- retary), Tom Fitzpatrick (vice chair- man), Mary Kenny (treasurer) and Margaret Curran (assistant treasur- er). A number of youths in the area are represented on the committee – Eoin and Stephen Kenny, Sinead Reilly and Lorraine Moloney.