The Clare People Archive

A WARNING of local drastic ac- tion was dropped at a meeting of the Clare Vocational Education Com- mittee this week as it listened to a delegation from St Michael’s Com- munity College, Kilmihil, on the frustrating absence of progress on a most urgently needed extension for the school.

Helena Keane, Principal, told the committee that the board of manage- ment had exhausted every avenue and still there was no progress for several years.

“Refurbishment is vital if we’re not to slip backwards in our quality of

education delivery. The college has zero failures in course subjects and examination results are regularly well above national averages,’ she ene

“Our teachers give a huge commit- ment and our pupils deserve better than working in a 20th century build- ing in the 21st century,” she added.

Martin Moloney, a teaching staff representative on the board of man- agement also addressed the meeting.

He first read a letter from staff addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of the committee, George O’Callaghan, and the Chairman, Councillor Tommy Brennan, and the other vocational education commit-

tee members.

The staff, the letter stated, had be- come increasingly uneasy at the ap- parent lack of movement from the Department of Education and Sci- ence in the past year on the expan- sion and updating building issue.

“It’s a whole year since a delega- tion met the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, on the matter, and staff have been most frustrated by lack of any momentum meantime,” he said.

‘This is despite continuous efforts of the chief executive officer and the committee’s infrastructure group.”

Martin Moloney added that in his eight years in the college Depart-

ment of Education officials had been there with their measuring tapes but draft reports and plans of proposed buildings appeared to have caused recession rather than progress.

“Our staff,” he noted, “are begin- ning to say what other action is re- quired by them to get movement. We can’t say as yet what way amid a growing sense of frustration.”

George O’Callaghan of the com- mittee said not a week passed when he was not in touch with the Depart- ment of Education and Science on the matter.

It had the project placed on band 2.4, a low priority rating for atten- wee

KILRUSH’S Yacht club has returned to the past in the same week it looks to anew modern future.

At the 2007 AGM of the Western Yacht Club, the club voted to revert to the title the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland. During the same meeting Ireland’s first ever Com- modore of a Royal or Ancient Yacht Club was also appointed.

Maeve Howard made national his- tory when she took over the most senior position in one of Ireland’s oldest clubs.

At the November AGM the clubs most acclaimed sailor Ger O’Rourke (skipper of Chieftain) proposed that the name of the club be changed from the name adopted in 1984 to

the original name going back 180 years.

The vote to return to the older name was not unanimous however but was carried by a two-thirds majority in Ie AVOlul

A spokesperson for the yacht club said that it was felt that not many people would know about the West- ern Yacht Club when it was men- tioned on the international stage, but the royal yacht club was more pres- tigious and had more recognition.

The Royal Western Yacht Club was formed in February 1828 by a group of men, among them the Earl of Dun- raven and two of Daniel O’Connell’s sons Maurice and John.

Years later the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland was issued with an Admiralty Warrant giving it permis-

sion to fly a defaced White Ensign – normal procedure at the time, as the Admiralty controlled all use of TLRS Teae

At the time the Royal Western Yacht Club had considerable mate- rial resources, it kept offices at 113 Grafton Street, Dublin, a clubhouse afloat in Dun Laoghaire on a ship called the Owen Glendower and had agents in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Scandinavia.

In 1984 it was revitalised as the Western Yacht Club, which was very active in both international and na- tional sailing.

In the international arena the West- ern Yacht Club consistently punched considerably above its expected weight when Mr O’Rourke distin- guished himself worldwide by win-

ning many prestigious yacht races and becoming the first Irish person to win the Fastnet Race.

One unique feature of the Royal Western Yacht Club is that it has at least two families as members who are direct descendants of the origi- nal founding members. The club’s flag is the Irish commercial ensign, blue flag with the Irish tricolour in the hoist and a crown surrounded by a wreath of shamrock in the fly. The original 1832 Burgee, which is used by all members, is the cross of St George on a white background with a crown surrounded by a wreath of Shamrock in the centre.

A THERAPY that promotes the prin- ciples of relaxation is now available in Clare with Mountshannon man Wolfgang Wiesmann at the helm. Originally from Germany, Wolf- gang moved to Clare a number of years ago and Mountshannon be- came his new home. After working for various organisations and groups like the Council for the Blind, the Brothers of Charity, St Anne’s School

in Ennis and the Steiner school, he branched out into the relatively new field of therapy autogenic training.

The core of autogenic training is a training course during which clients learn a series of simple exercises in body awareness and relaxation de- signed to switch off the stress-related ‘fight and flight’ system of the body and switch on the ‘rest, relaxation and recreation’ system.

Autogenic training has been used by people of all walks of life to en-

hance healing, performance and creativity.

It has been taught to international sports men and women to enhance performance, to airline pilots and crew to combat jet lag and fatigue, and in the business environment to optimise performance and concen- tration and reduce stress. It has even been used to help astronauts make the necessary environmental adjust- ments in space travel.

Wolfgang teaches autogenic train-

ing and emotional freedom tech- niques at his office at Bank Place in /Syaebay

‘“Autogenic training comes from re- laxation without exercise,’ explained Wolfgang. “It is particularly helpful for people who might not be able to exercise, like people who might be disabled or in wheelchairs.”

He continued, “For physical health your mind needs to be relaxed fully. It is used a lot in England where it 1s a fully recognized therapy.”

ELEVEN learners in the East Clare Adult and Community Education Centre, Scariff, have been awarded Further Education and _ Training Awards Council of Ireland (FETAC) certificates, some after two years of study, others after one.

They undertook the Vocational Training Opportunities Programme (VTOS) which has been on offer at the centre for almost nine years and brought the number of successful students to 100 in that period.

The certificates represented vari- ous combinations of subjects stud- ied. VTOS in Scariff is a two-year full-time programme that accom- modates twenty students. It provides courses in ceramics, stained glass, painting, art, craft and design, com- puters, women’s studies and Spanish. Other ‘general’ studies programmes

offered include the National Univer- sity of Ireland Maynooth certificate in social and human studies and FE- TAC modules in enterprise, work ex- perience and communications.

The centre’s target group is unem- ployed people over 21 in receipt of a payment from social welfare or sisning for credits for at least six peeve etsy

The Scariff programme has devel- oped an excellent reputation for its very fine art, craft and design seg- ment and has had an excellent rate of progression for students moving on to study full-time degrees in the College of Art & Design in Limerick and other third-level institutions.

Resources within the centre con- nected with the arts and crafts in- clude the ceramics module for which a kiln and potter’s wheels are avail- able.

Deputy Timmy Dooley formally

presented the certificates and con- eratulated the recipients.

He was full of admiration for the work of VTOS co-ordinator Mike Hook and staff in the centre which he recalled was “the original voca- tional school and had happily being retained for further education for the local community”’.

Mike Hook paid tribute to tutors Lynn van Lintzgy, in information technology, Sarah Moore, in stained glass, Nona Saunders in ceramics, and Andrew Nuland, drawing and paint- ing, as well as Mary O’Shaughnessy in administration back-up. “Their expertise and dedication made it all possible,” he said.

Adult education, he went on, 1s “about changing lives and creating opportunities. It provides the social and cultural capital to achieve that change”.

Bernie Treacy, who was asked to

speak about her experience of the VTOS programme, said that four years ago her husband, Caimin, died and she felt at the end of life. But in time, she signed up for the pro- gramme and has not left it since. She is now a voluntary tutor on the nu- meracy and literacy course. “Every- one gets individual treatment here,” She said, “and the tutors are brilliant in a lovely atmosphere.”

THE Raheen Wood Steiner School held it’s twentieth advent fair at the weekend and local people turned out in force to support it and to pick up some unusual Christmas gifts.

Stalls laden down with handcrafts and hand-made decorations as well as lots of food stalls offering good- ies of every kind did a brisk trade for the day.

It was a real family day out and the youngsters enjoyed puppet shows and story telling.

“It’s a real celebration,” said Prin- cipal, Pierce O’Sheil, who tried his hand at storytelling.

‘“We’ve been getting great support locally for the fair down the years and it’s an important fundraiser for us. It usually brings in between €4.000 and €5,000.”

While no school can ever have enough cash in the bag for all the projects it might want to invest in, fund raising is the lifeblood of the Raheen Wood School, as it still does not have recognition and consequent funding from the department.

“We had a meeting with them two weeks ago and we’re optomistic,”’ said Pierce.

Raheen Wood the founding Stein- er Waldorf School in the Republic of Ireland and has been offering a multi-denominational, child-centred co-education since 1986. The school is situated in mature woodlands near the village of Tuamgraney.

The school caters for for children from kindergarten age (4-6) through the primary classes (7-12), with the option of the ALFA project in nearby Scariff for ongoing secondary level

Steiner education.

The school offers “an academic and practical education for the whole child’, and is part of a rapidly grow- ing international school movement of over 800 schools worldwide. Based on the work of scientist and philoso- pher Rudolf Steiner, the education began in 1919 with the founding of the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany.

PUPILS at Ennis Educate Together have been learning about the work done by aid organisations in troubled parts of the world.

32 children from fourth and fifth class took part in the Irish Aid Our World Global Schools Awards pro- eau benuentes

Irish Aid, Department of Foreign Affairs, is the Government of Ire- land’s programme of assistance to developing countries and was set up in 1974. Ireland’s development co- operation policy is an integral part of Ireland’s wider foreign policy. Through Irish Aid, the people of

Ireland support development work in many countries (€813 million in 2006).

For the past few years Irish Aid has run the Irish Aid Our World Global Schools’ Awards programme for all primary schools in both the north and south of Ireland. The overall purpose of the programme Is to raise awareness among Irish students of the lives of children of a similar age in the developing world. By taking part in this programme, children can learn how Ireland works with these countries not as providers of charity but as partners for development.

Yesterday pupils presented their work to their parents and teachers at

the school.

Teacher Maurette Stack explained how the children explored the many ways poverty impacts on a region and the type of work carried out by aid agencies.

She said, ““They learned about a lot of countries like Nicaragua, Hondu- ras, Ethiopia. They had to look at dif- ferent aspects of poverty like water quality and education and the work of charities alleviate these problems. One aspect of it is to raise aware- ness about poverty and charity in the wider community so that’s why we invited in the parents.

The Irish Aid Our World Global Schools’ Awards programme pro-

vides a great opportunity to channel curiosity about the world and con- cern for others into practical action. In past years, hundreds of schools and thousands of children have taken part in this project.

It culminates with an awards day in Dublin where a national panel of judges selects the most impressive entries from schools countrywide.

This year once again there will be a fantastic final event held in Dublin, Where the most outstanding entries will be invited to attend and receive an award and will find out which school will receive the Irish Aid Our World Global Schools’ Awards tro-

phy.

IT’S shaping up to be a busy festive season for the students of Maoin Cheoil an Chlair and the school’s new director, Hans Boller.

On Saturday, students from the Ennis-based school performed a fundraising concert at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre. It 1s just the first in a series of concerts planned for Christmas.

The main event occurs on Wednes- day, December 12 when respected musician, composer and academic Micheal O’Suilleabhain takes to the stage in Danlann an Chlair.

O’Suilleabhain, chairperson and

co-founder of Maoin Cheoil an Chlair, will be joined by more than 100 students from the school, who will also perform over two nights, December 12 and 23.

Hans Boller, the recently appoint- ed director of Maoin Cheoil, said preparations are well underway for the concert. “Over the two days, we expect there will be over 100-200 students performing. It is the kind of event that takes a lot of work but everyone is looking forward to it.”

Originally from Germany, Boller has lived in Limerick for the past eight years. He was appointed to the post of director after attaining a masters in medieval music from the

University of Limerick. He is look- ing forward to working in Ennis.

“It is going well so far. The main thing is to get the students to per- form, we are trying to have as many performances in the school as pos- sible. We hope to bring a few new teachers to the school so that we can offer new classes.”

The school caters for 380 students with a staff of 17 teachers. Talks are also taking place with Glor about giving students the opportunity to perform in the venue’s foyer space.

“It important, for their own ben- efit, that they get to play regularly. It is something we are looking at and hopefully we will know in the New

Year if it is going to happen”. Then- president Mary Robinson opened Maoin Cheoil an Chlair in 1994. It was the first music school in Ireland to include classical and traditional music on an equal basis.

Founded by Fr Harry Bohan and Prof O Suilleabhain, Maoin Cheoil an Chlair was designed as a model for similar schools in other local au- thority areas and further afield.

Maoin Cheoil an Chlair has close links with the Sionna Academy of Music and Dance (Irish World Music Centre) at the University of Lim- erick and frequently draws on the wide international music education expertise at the university.

STUDENTS from St Caimin’s com- munity school Tullavaraga will again be competing with the brightest and best at the 2008 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

3,514 students are represented in the 1,416 projects from 31 of the 32 counties across the island, showing that the interest in the BT Young Sci- entist and Technology Exhibition 1s erowing even stronger.

The aim of the organisers is to at- tract young people to science by making it fun, exciting and acces- sible, not just for the participating

and visiting students, but also for the general public as well.

500 of the projects submitted will qualify to compete in the finals in the RDS, Dublin next January.

The overall winner will be named the BIT Young Scientist(s) of the Year and receive a Waterford Crys- tal trophy together with a cheque for €5,000.

Each category is represented and has entries in junior, intermediate and senior levels.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin TD said, “Every year the BT Young Scientist and Technol-

ogy Exhibition attracts thousands of inquiring minds to submit projects outlining their research and experi- ments. This January, once again, we will see competitors from second level schools throughout the coun- try, as Well as a small number of pri- mary schools participate in this pre- mier science event. This exhibition has served as a Starting point from which many successful careers in science, technology and engineering have been launched. I want to wish all our young scientists the best of luck in the coming months with their projects.”

In total 1,416 projects have entered

next year’s competition with 500 projects expected to take part in the final. This represents an 11 per cent increase on last year’s entries.

The BT Young Scientist and Tech- nology Exhibition will be held in the RDS from January 9 to 12, 2008 and open to the public on January 10, 11 and 12.

Chris Clark, Chief Executive Offic- er, BT Ireland added, ““The key aim of the exhibition is to stimulate, nur- ture and reward those students and schools who have shown a passion for science and technology – subjects that are critical to Ireland’s future as a successful knowledge economy.”

AS charities across the country begin their Christmas appeals, Sixmilebri- dge man Kevin Byrne is busy rais- ing the profile of Concern – Ireland’s largest aid agency.

Fondly known around Dublin’s Rathmines as the Clare man with the Dublin accent Kevin has seen first hand where the money raised by the chairty goes as he has spent much of is career working abroad.

“T have been on the Iraq Jordanian border, Liberia, Somalia, Tanzania and Bangladesh,” he said.

His mother, Christina Wallace is now living in Mounthsannon having spent many years in Dublin. Kevin’s uncle, Jim Hoban, is well known in rugby circles in Shannon and is a past president of St Senan’s Rugby Siti

Kevin makes sure to set the record straight about his Clare genealogy before talking about his 20 years with Concern.

“T started working with Concern the day after my 29th birthday and I can honestly say it was the best birth- day present I ever received.

“And I would not still be here if I did not believe that Concern makes a difference helping the poorest of the poor around the world,” he said.

He came to Concern back in 1988 having spent ten years working as a spray painter and panel beater. His first job involved packaging material for distribution to the 800 schools taking part in the famous Concern Se Nierhwrhie

It was not long before he was posted to the Iraq Jordanian border in 1990 where he was assisting refugees from Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“IT was allocating people to their tents and it so happens that I was working with two Ennis men, Mike McDonagh and Noel Moloney.

“Then in 1991 I spent four months working on the Liberian Sierra Leo- ne border. I was based in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. My job was mak- ing sure that Concern goods shipped into Freetown in Sierra Leone were safely delivered to Liberia.

It was a war zone at the time. Im- agine, we had just one satellite tel- ephone which was shared among all the NGOs. We had one fax machine

available to us in Freetown. I often spent all day there until I learned how to ‘wheel and deal’ and manage to get to skip the queue,” he said.

When he arrived in the Somali cap- ital, Mogadischu, in 1992 on a UN aircraft he was greeted with gunfire all over the city.

“It was gunfire day and night every day and it was my job to find some- Where for Concern staff to Stay. There was absolutely no infrastruc- ture, everything had been looted.

“In Afghoi, about 30 kilometres from Mogadischu, we were feeding

2,00 people every day. There were people dropping dead in front of us. It was terrible,” he recalled.

During the Rwanda emergency Kevin was part of the Concern Emer- gency Response Unit and spent nine months on the Rwanda Tanzanian border, based in the Kagera region.

“For the first two months I was involved in managing a camp for 10,000 people. I was then seconded to the World Food Programme where we were distributing food. We began supplying food to 40,000 people and that number grew to 250,000 in a

very short time.”

Between 1996 and 1997, Kevin spent 14 months working with the British High Commission in Bang- ladesh and also helped Concern na- tional staff to improve their report- ing skills in Concern’s head office in Dhaka.

These days Kevin is working in Concern’s head office in Dublin where he is in the customer relations department.

IT was once a ballroom of romance but in recent years there was little that could be called romantic about Quin Community Hall.

Built in 1940 the hall in it’s hey- day was THE place to be for bright young things who wanted to dance the night away to the sounds of the Swarbriggs or the Indians.

The now draughty hall with it’s plumbing creaking and paint peel- ing 1s about to be restored to glory thanks to hard work fundraising and a €40,000 grant from the Depart-

ment of the Gaeltacht and Rural De- velopment.

€70,000 was raised locally through a very successful members draw.

A refurbishment and planned exten- sion for the hall will be carried out in two phases, according to booking of- ficer at the Quin Community Centre, Sarah Lennon.

“In the first phase, which is what this grant is for, we’ll be making the front of the building totally wheel- chair accessible with a new kitchen and an accessible toilet.”

The work is timely as the Enable Ireland sports group have just begun

using the building for sports prac- tice.

It’s hoped that this part of the refur- bishment can begin shortly and fu- ture plans are to apply for planning permission for a multi-purpose facil- ity in the back of the building.

“Local people were fantastic – they really rowed in to support us in the project,” said Sarah.

And whatever it costs to bring the building up to scratch, it will be money well spent, given the number of groups who use it.

Currently a new youth club has Opened it’s doors on Sundays be-

tween 7pm and 9pm, with youngsters aged 12 to 17 joining. Hip-hop and Irish dance classes are held in the centre, while badminton and other sports are played there.

The centre is also a meeting and functions home to local community groups such as the ICA, the parent and toddler group and the Teakwood Club.

‘“We’re booked well ahead and we expect to stay busy. The population of Quin is growing and there are more clubs starting up all the time. The hall will see plenty of use,” said Sarah.