Category: News

A NORTH Clare man has given the Irish film industry a major boost by helping secure the first major international award for Irish documentary The Pipe .

Ennistymon native Eoghan McGuire emigrated from North Clare during the last recession in the 1980s and, after spending some time in America, he went on to live in Würzburg in German.

Once settled in Germany he set up a GAA club, St Kilian’s, and over the past decade a film society has developed in the club during the winter months. In recent years, Eoghan has become very involved in the prestigious Würzburg Film Festival and this year he managed to convince the organisers to bring Irish documentary The Pipe to Germany.

The film was shown at the festival last week and was followed by a talk from director Risteard Ó Domhnaill. The film went down so well that, despite the language barrier, the film was voted Best Documentary by the German audience – the film’s first international award.

“I had heard about The Pipe a long while ago and I managed to get to a screening and to meet the director in Galway. I felt that there was a profound message there and a message that could translated to a German audience,” said Eoghan.

“It is a tale that is definitely worth telling and the theme of a small community up against a big multi-national is something that I though would appeal to the audience over here. This is an audience award, which means it was the film goers and not critics or experts who picked it, so that is important.

“I think that this can be a stepping stone for the film. Once you win an award in one European festival it makes it easier for it to be shown in other film festivals and hopefully that will be the case for The Pipe .

“I normally look for an Irish film that would appeal to the crowd. We like to scout out up and coming Irish films that otherwise might not get the chance to be on the film circuit in Europe. It is as much about encouraging small Irish films into Europe as it is about the festival itself. We don’t have strict criteria; it’s really about bringing quality films over here,” he said. The Pipe beat out competition from a number of German documentaries as well as films from Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium and France to win the award.

SECONDARY school students in Ennis have been learning about the skills needed to succeed in cutting edge world of information technology.

Employees working at Avocent, Shannon, are committing to an initiative which will provide a firsthand insight into the world of work, to senior cycle students from Ennis Community College as part of the Skills @ Work Programme. This programme has been facilitated by the Schools Business Partnership (SBP) and is an initiative of Business in the Community, Ireland (BITC Ireland).

Employees of Avocent will talk to the students about the real-life skills required in the workplace, such as CV writing and interview preparation. They will run ‘A Day in the Life’ session, amongst others, to assist the students in recognising the value of completing the Leaving Certificate and help them explore possible career paths. The students will also be brought on a site visit to the Avocent premises in Shannon and witness the many career opportunities that exist in the industry.

Yvonne Walsh, Leaving Cert Vocational Programme Coordinator (LVCP) at Ennis Community College, explained, “This programme will really help students in fifth year to focus on their strengths and interests and to work towards achieving results that will help them in the next stage of their life whether it is work or further education. We are looking forward to developing the partnership with Avocent over the coming year.”

Barry Healy, HR Manager, Avocent, said, “Avocent are delighted to be partnering with Ennis Community College, to support the students in their final year. Our employees are excited about getting involved and giving the students a taste of our real working lives. It also gives them an opportunity to develop themselves in areas such as team-building, interpersonal and communication skills.”

Dr Eleanor Walsh, Limerick / Clare Regional SPB Co-ordinator added, “In BITC Ireland we are delighted to welcome Avocent to the growing number of companies participating in our programmes and recognise their commitment to the local community. Considering that Avocent is based in Shannon, we are delighted that the students will gain valuable knowledge of the career paths and job opportunities available in their locality.”

Funded under the National Development Plan, The Schools Business Partnership aimed to match 158 post primary schools in Ireland with a local business and achieved that goal in 2009.

CLARE’S chances of securing funding from a € 7 million music education programme, backed by U2, have received a boost with the news that the county’s application has been shortlisted for the prize.

Spearheaded by Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC), the bid has been included in a list of 23 applications for round one of Music Generation funding.

The money, which has been donated by U2 and The Ireland Fund, will be used to increase music education programmes in counties around Ireland.

If successful, the Clare bid, which is also supported by organisations including Clare County Council and Shannon Development, would see music teachers employed to work in school and out of school settings, teaching music to children and young adults around the county.

Under the initiative, music education programmes could receive a maximum of € 200,000 per annum over a three-year period. Successful applicants will be expected to deliver a matching amount of funding.

Acclaimed musician and scholar Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin has also lent his high profile support to the bid, which is seeking to capitalize on Clare’s strong association with music.

Mr Ó Súilleabhain is Chairman of the Clare Music Education Programme and a founding member of Ennis-based music school Maoin Cheoil an Chláir, whose staff have worked closely with members of Clare VEC in preparing the application.

Dr Sean Conlan, Education Officer with Clare VEC, said that a lot of the work of the Clare bid focused on identifying “gaps in music education” across Clare.

He added, “That was the biggest process, because despite all the music that is being taught all over Clare there is no one organisation or group you can go to get all that information.”

Dr Conlan said that if Clare secured funding then the programme would seek to work alongside and complement the work of existing music schools and groups.

He explained, “We would be careful not to cut across what is already happening in the county or displace what is already being delivered. There are a lot of good music schools out there.”

Round one selection decisions are expected to be announced during May with round two funding announced in the Autumn.

LOCALS and holiday-makers have been warned to be vigilant in the county’s swimming areas this week as no lifeguards will be on duty. As a result of recent good weather and the Easter falling late this year, thousands are expected to take to the county’s beaches in the coming days.

Clare County Council’s Water Safety Development Officer, Liam Griffin, has urged anyone taking to the water to be cautious and to look for advice from the local surf school before swimming at an unfamiliar beach.

“People should be aware if they are thinking about going swimming that while the air temperature may be hot, the water temperature is still very cold. But if people are going swimming, they should swim at a location that they are familiar with,” he said.

“They should swim close to the shore and not over-estimate how powerful a swimmer they are. If people are visiting Clare and want to go for a swim, they should consult with local people to make sure that they are swimming in a safe place.

“Many of our lifeguards work in the the surf schools which are now located at many of the popular beaches so a good thing to do would be to go to a surf school and ask them is it safe to swim.”

The recruitment process for the 30 lifeguards who will patrol Clare beaches this summer will begin on April 30. According or Mr Griffin, Clare’s team of lifeguards are the best trained and most qualified lifeguards in Ireland.

“To apply to be a lifeguard in Clare, you must already have an Irish National Beach Lifeguard Award. Applicants will then be tested in both first aid and CPR and those who are successful will then go forward to the interview stage. We will usually have more than 80 high-quality applicants and from them we will choose the 30 best candidates,” continued Liam.

“We feel that here in Clare we have the highest standard of lifeguards in the country. Someone from Clare generally manages to win the National Surf Lifeguard Competition, which shows the quality of applicants that we get.”

Clare’s four premier beaches at Lahinch, Fanore, Spanish Point and Kilkee will all have a lifeguard presence on the June Bank Holiday Weekend. These beaches, as well as other beaches at Bishops Quarter in Ballyvaughan, Doolin, White Strand (Miltown Malbay), Seafield in Quilty, White Strand in Doonbeg, Cappa Pier in Kilrush and Lough Derg, will have a full-time lifeguard presence throughout July and August.

THE first ever detailed history of the parish of Inagh and Kilnamona has been put into a book by former local school teacher and Mayor of Clare Flan Garvey. The book, which was launched earlier this month, attempts to bring the entire history of the area together – from before the area was settled by man right up to the current day.

The book is the fruit of years of study by Flan in the Tralee Institute of Technology, where he completed a post-graduate degree in history in 2008.

The book was officially launched by the former Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh, and there was a second special guest who travelled all the way from Ennis for the launch.

“We had one very important article present for the book launch. We managed to get what is known as the Inagh Chalice. The chalice is located normally at the Friary in Ennis but we managed to get a loan of it for the day,” said Flan.

“There was a Franciscan Monastery in Inagh back in the seventeenth century and one of the Friars there was a local monk call Mortimus O’Gaoife and the chalice bears his name and the year 1671. Fr Seamus from the Friary came out with the chalice and we are hugely grateful to him for helping us out with that.”

The book bring together many different elements of local history, from the geological history of the Burren and how it was formed, to the many interesting characters who lived in the Inagh and Kilnamona areas over the last few hundred years.

“All the proceeds of the book, every single penny after the printing costs, is going to the parish. I have donated my work as a gift to the parish in my latter years. It will be of great interest to local people, I know, but also to people who don’t live in the area anymore and especially people who have lived abroad.”

The book is available locally from the shops in Inagh and from all members of the local parish council.

THE Alpine flowers of the Burren are experiencing one of their best springs in recent memory, with the rare Alpine gentian in full bloom weeks ahead of schedule.

But along with the flowers, the people of North Clare are also well ahead of season this year with the launch of the biggest ever Burren in Bloom Festival.

The festival, which runs across North Clare for the next five weeks, will be officially opened next Tuesday, March 3, at Fanore National School.

This year’s programme includes a host of large and small events each designed to show off the beauty of the North Clare Burren.

“May is probably the most beautiful month in the Burren. This year in particular, possibly because of the way that the weather has been, the Burren flowers are really coming into themselves,” said Mary Hawkes Greene of Burren in Bloom.

“For anyone who comes during the month, we have so much going on and so much information available for people. There are so many talks and so many walks going on that anyone who comes to visit will have something to do every day – and most of it is free. Burren in Bloom is working really closely with the BurrenBeo Trust and the Burren College of Art to organise events both for locals and for visitors.”

Many large events such as the Burren Challenge Marathon, the Tour de Burren cycling race and the Burren Slow Food Festival will all take place during this year’s Burren in Bloom.

There will also be a host of smaller events and this year’s programme has a particular focus on children.

“Many of the visitors who are coming down here are families so it is important to have some events that younger people can go to and learn more about the Burren,” continued Mary.

“We have a special ‘Bugs and Beasties’ walk for children; on the Saturday of the Burren marathon we are having a treasure hunt on the grounds of the Burren College of Art; and the Ballyvaughan Farmers’ Market are also having a special children’s day. It’s about attracting people down for Burren in Bloom but it’s also about showing off the Burren so that people will come back at other times and spend some time here.”

The Burren in Bloom will run from April 29 to May 31. For a full programme of events, visit www.burreninbloom.com or check out the Clare People in the coming weeks.

CLARE’S Oireachtas representation could be boosted to record levels on Thursday when the votes to make up the 24th Seanad Éireann are counted.

A record four Clare candidates are contesting the election with former Mayor of Clare Tony Mulcahy from Shannon and former Irish National Teachers Organisation National President Declan Kelleher from Corofin the two leading candidates for seats in the Upper House.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Mulcahy, who doubled his first preference total in the recent General Election, is contesting the Labour panel where 11 seats are up for grabs while independent candidate Mr Kelleher is bidding to win one of the three National University of Ireland seats.

Mr Kelleher has vowed to lead the charge towards reforming the Seanad if he follows in the footsteps of Joe O’Toole in winning a Seanad seat for the INTO.

“I believe that it can be reformed and through the presence of independent voices, can hold the government to account for its actions,” he told The Clare People . “My campaign is to bring about a reformed Seanad with just 30 members who would be elected directly by the people and would therefore be far more independent of political control,” he said this Tuesday’s final polling day.

Clare’s two other candidates are Fine Gael’s Martin Conway and John Crowe, who are contesting the Administrative and Industrial and Commercial panels respectively.

Cllr Conway is considered to be up against it being the first Oireachtas representative from Ennistymon since fellow Fine Gael man Deputy Bill Murphy served on Dáil Éireann from 1951 to ‘67. This is because of the presence of two Fine Gael candidates in the contest who lost their seats in the recent General Election – Tom Sheehan in Kerry South and Michael Darcy in Wexford.

With only seven seats up for grabs in the Administrative Panel, Sheehan and Darcy national profile as former members of Dáil Éireann could give them at a distinct advantage over Cllr Conway.

Cllr Crowe is contesting his second successive Seanad Election and could be a dark horse to win one of the nine seats on the Industrial and Commericial panel.

He narrowly missed out on election in 2007, while his profile as one of the Clare members on the General Council of County Councils could yet garner him enough votes to secure election.

HUNDREDS of Alpaca’s from all over Ireland will descend on Ennis this Sunday in search of the much coveted Anna May Driscoll Cup.

The cup, which is the premier award for Alpaca farming in Ireland, is named after the Ballyvaughan nurse and Alpaca farmer Anna May Driscoll, who died in 2007.

It is the highlight of the Alpaca Association of Ireland (AAI) national show which comes to Clare for the first time ever this year.

“We are delighted to bring the Irish National Show to Ennis. This will be our fourth national and we have been looking for an indoor arena in case of rain,” said AAI President, Damien Dyar.

“This allows us to have an early show before the alpacas are shorn. The public will be interested to see the alpacas with full fleece on as opposed to shorn. We are very grateful to the Ennis Showgrounds Committee for allowing us to use their premises.”

As well as being the President of the AAI, Damien is also the founder of Burren Alpaca – the Fanore-based company which he set up with his partner, the late Anna May Driscoll.

This year’s show will take place at the Ennis Showgrounds and will be judged by UK Alpaca expert Jay Holland, who is accredited by the British Alpaca Society as a fleece and animal judge.

The show will be open to visitors from 9am to 4pm and the judging of various classes will be in the morning.

It is expected that the Supreme Champion will be judged about mid day. As well as the judging there is also a display of fleece and alpaca products.

Alpacas are bred for their fine fleece which is as soft as cashmere. Peruvian Alpacas were introduced to Ireland only 11 years ago by Clare breeders Burren Alpaca and are steadily growing in popularity.

SHANNON recorded the highest temperature in Ireland this year, on Thursday afternoon – and we are in for quite a good week ahead across Clare.

Temperatures reached 22.7 degrees Celsius at the weather station at Shannon Airport at lunchtime on Thursday. This was the hottest day of the year and is the third highest April temperature in Clare in 50 years. It was also the highest April temperature since 2003.

Temperatures in Ennis peaked at 21.5 degrees on the same day, according to meteorology figures. County Clare fared much better than other parts of the country last week. Temperatures lowered to 12.4 degrees in Malin Head in Donegal.

However, temperatures aren’t likely to reach those highs this week. Predicted temperatures for the next few days range from 11 degrees (Friday) to 16 degrees (Thursday). Editor of the website www.irishweatheronline. com, Mark Dunphy, said this month is predicted to break records.

“It’s not going to be too bad this week. It is going to get thundery towards the weekend with heavy showers, but it will be a largely bright week ahead. Temperatures could hit 20 degrees in Clare by the weekend,” said Mr Dunphy.

“Other hot April months would have been 1975, 1984 and 1990. This was the third highest. We are on track for the warmest April on record,” he said. “These figures are according to meteorological stations across the country.”

Mr Dunphy, a public relations consultant, set up the website last November and since it was established has commanded 7,500 followers on Twitter.

Indeed if the figures for Clare so far this year are anything to go by, we are in for a bright summer ahead. According to Met Éireann, the weather station at Shannon recorded the highest sunshine levels since 1955 in March. The monthly total of sun recorded there was more than 160 hours.

AS KILRUSH commemorated the 95th anniversary of the Easter Rising on Sunday, a woman from the town has told a remarkable tale of how her father celebrated his wedding on the eve of the rebellion before heading off to join Padraic Pearse’s garrison in Dublin’s GPO.

Belfast-born Thomas McMullen, who lived and worked in Kilrush for many years before his death over 40 years ago, was also one of the few Catholics to work on the building of the Titanic before joining the Irish Volunteers and taking part in the independence struggle.

“My father married Annie McGill on Easter Sunday 1916 in Ss Peter & Paul’s Church in Belfast,” Teresa O’Loughlin told The Clare People . “He got word that night from Padraig Pearse that the Rising was going ahead and he made his way down to Dublin on Easter Monday and was garrisoned in the GPO for the Rising.

“My mother didn’t mind him going off to the Rising. They were both of the one mind that Ireland should be free, so he had her blessing when he went off to the the GPO to fight for Ireland.

“Many, many years later I was in Dublin for Easter Rising commemoration and we went to the National Gallery and saw photograph of my father with Countess Markievicz.

“He was captured sometime after the Rising and was put in jail. He was involved in the whole War of Independence and he went on hunger strike for six weeks and suffered with his stomach for the rest of his life after that,” the 82-year-old from Henry Street, Kilrush added.

Ms O’Loughlin was born in Mitchelstown where her father worked in the local creamery, before the family moved to Kilrush when he took up an appointment with the West Clare Creamery.

“He lived in Kilrush until he died aged 74 in 1969, but he never really spoke to us about his role in the Rising. It was only my mother who’d tell us something about it. ‘Come on now,’ he’d say when we’d press him to talk about his part in the Rising. ‘Don’t fill the children’s heads with this stuff,’ he’d say.

“‘I’ll tell ye all about the Titanic.’ He told us there were awful things written on the hull. He knew because he worked on the building of it; one of the few Catholics who worked on it, but he had a great friend who got him a job in Harland and Wolff,” added Ms O’Loughlin.